Indians Bury St. Augustine's Early

BY HORACE BILLINGS
SALISBURY POST

Catawba College's Indians wasted little time in taking charge of the action against St. Augustine's in a non-conference basketball game here at Goodman Gym Tuesday night.

The Redskins bolted off to a 24-6 lead after 10 minutes and coasted to a 74-60 triumph. It was their

fourth win against a single loss. The defeat left St. Augustine's with a 2-3 mark.

A pair of 3-pointers by Marvin Moore and Nedzad Gusic got the Indians off to a sparkling start in which their defense stole the show for most of the game.

The goals by Moore and Gusic gave the Indians an 8-2 advantage and they never looked back.

At the same time, the Tribe defense held the CIAA team to only six points on three field goals in the first 10 minutes.

Catawba went on to take a 38-18 advantage at halftime and stretched its lead to 24 points on two occasions at 57-33 and 59-35 in the last half.

St. Augustine's came back down the stretch to chop away at the Tribe cushion. The visitors closed the gap to 10 points at 68-58 with 1:49 left to play.

"I thought we played well at times,'' said Coach Jim Baker of Catawba. "We did a real good job defensively in the first half. We did not play well going down the stretch. But it is human nature to slack off once you get a big lead.''

Moore, a senior guard and playmaker, again provided the big spark for the Indians. He fired in 25 points on 8-for-13 from the floor, including 3-for-6 from 3-point range. He made 6-for-8 at the foul line. Moore also had a career high 13 rebounds.

Forward Davor Krusevljanin followed with 15 points.

Khalid Shakur led St. Augustine's with 20. Marty Dickerson followed with 17, including 12 from 3-point territory.

Catawba roared away at the starting bell. Krusevljanin hit six straight points at one stretch to give the Indians an early 27-6 advantage. Moore and Joe Fling led a surge when the Indians outscored the visitors by 14-0.

The Indians held a firm advantage at halftime and got off to a fast start in the second half, increasing their lead to 59-35.

Then St. Augustine's came back to slice the lead to 10 points late in the game. The Falcons outscored Catawba 16-4 to cut the margin to 63-51 with three minutes to go.

"We have got to take this win and build on it after Thanksgiving,'' added Baker. "We did not play well late in the game. I have to give the team a C-plus for the game. We have got to come together and become a tougher team. I'm pleased to be 4-1 now. It has been busy start for us.'' The Indians have played five games in nine days.

Baker also was pleased by the performances of 7-2 center Gaetan Cotigny and reserve center Joe Fling. Cotigny scored six points and blocked three shots in 19 minutes. Fling scored four points and pulled down six rebounds in 15 minutes.

Catawba made 40.4 percent of its shots (23-for-57) and hit 5-for-16 from 3-point range. St. Augustine's was held to 30.1 shooting (22-for-73). The Falcons made six 3-pointers.

The Indians will return to action Monday at Shaw University. They will entertain Savannah Art & Design Dec. 2 before the C. F. Parks-Catawba Classic here Dec. 4-5.