By Horace Billings

Salisbury post

It was one of those days when all a Catawba player had to do was send the ball toward the basket.

Most likely it went in.

Catawba used some torrid shooting to roll over Carson Newman 97-81 Saturday at Goodman Gym, winning its 10th game of the season.

The Indians (10-9, 4-3) made 53 percent of their field goal attempts, (35 of 66), including 17 of 30 in the second half. It was the Tribe’s second-highest point total of the campaign.

“I am real proud of the way we played,” said Catawba coach Jim Baker. “Our defense got us going in the first half when we held Carson-Newman to 28 points. We scored 47 for a good lead.”

The Eagles actually outscored Catawba 53-50 after halftime, but it was far too late.

“Our defense was the key in the first half.” said Baker. “Holding them to 28 points got us going.”

The Indians used balanced scoring to nail down the win.

Five Indians scored in double figures, including three with over 20 points.

Antonio Houston, a sharp-shooting freshman, fired in 23 to lead the attack. Ahmad Murphy and Brian Graves followed with 21 apiece.

Chris Wooldridge fired in 11, and Norman Monroe had 10.

“Offense took over and did a good job in the second half,” said Baker. “I challenged them in the dressing room to play well, and they responded with a very good effort.”

*

NOTES: Catawba scored 104 in its opening game this season. … The loss left Carson-Newman 7-12 overall. … The Eagles made only 30.6 percent of their shots (11 of 36) in the first half.

CARSON-NEWMAN (81) — DHart 19, De. Williams 16, S. Williams 15, Tipton 11, Scott 8, Da. Williams 6, Dixon 6, Johnson, McMurray, Glab.

Catawba (97) — Houston 23, Murphy 21, Graves 21, Wooldridge 11, Monroe 10, Diggs 4, Magnusson 3, Brinkley 2, Rose 2, Rutherford, Williams, Fields, Sossaman, Butler.

C-Newman 28 53 — 81

Catawba 47 50 — 97