Eric Mayo made clutch free throws to lift Livingstone men’s basketball team to a 90-89 win in OT at St. Augustine’s on Wednesday.
The Blue Bears struggled offensively in the first half, shooting 39.3 percent and trailed by as many as 18 points. The Blue Bears (18-6, 11-4) were down 44-29 at the break.
With 14:45 left to play, the Blue Bears went on a 17-3 run, fueled by Anthony Welch’s back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the Blue Bears’ deficit to 47-43.
Mayo tied the game 52-52 with 12:35 left to play with a layup. Livingstone took its first lead of the second half after Jody Hill hit a 3-pointer from the corner.
Mayo tied the game at 80-all with 46 seconds left to play. The Falcons answered with 15 seconds left to play. With 3.7 seconds left, Mark Thomas was fouled beyond the arc. He converted two of three shots to send the game into overtime.
Livingstone finished with five players in double figures. Thomas had a double-double of 17 points and 11 assists. Mayo and Hill scored 16 points apiece, while Welch finished with 13 points. Emarri Bailey came off the bench to score 11.
Livingstone will close the regular season on Wednesday at Winston-Salem State at 7:30 p.m.
Winston-Salem State’s game against J.C. Smith had a bizarre conclusion on Wednesday. The game was stopped at 76-76 at the end of regulation. The game was tied when a Johnson C. Smith player attempted a fullcourt shot at the buzzer. It hit a light fixture, breaking it and leaving it hanging by a wire.
There was a delay to try and fix the situation, but it was deemed a safety concern and the game was called.
In a game in which the teams were never separated by more than six points, Lenoir-Rhyne used a late rally to pull out a 53-49 SAC win over Catawba at Goodman Gym on Wednesday.
The Bears improved to 13-10 overall and 12-7 in the SAC. The Indians fell to 6-17 and 6-13 and are officially eliminated from the race to qualify for the league tournament.
Will Perry hit a layup for L-R with 36 seconds left for a 50-49 lead. The Indians missed a shot with 10 seconds to go and R.J. McClure was fouled intentionally. He made one free throw with seven seconds left and Jarrick Brown added two more with five ticks on the clock to ice it.
McClure led Lenoir-Rhyne with 14 points.Allan Jones added a dozen points, while Rob Noyes pulled down nine rebounds.
Tyrece Little had 16 points and 17 rebounds for the Indians. Elon Edwards (Greenville, NC/Rose HS) scored 11, and Arrington added 10.
Catawba will play its final home game Saturday, hosting Brevard (and Carson grad Darius Moose) at 4 p.m.
Davie County’s boys basketball season ended with an 81–55 loss to Reagan in the first round of the CPC tournament on Wednesday. Peyton Sell scored 24 for the War Eagles in the final game of his career.
It was a tough season for the War Eagles (4-21), although Mike Absher coached hard down to the final minute of the final game.
“We were so young, and it was a tough transition for most of our guys to playing in a league like the CPC,” Sell said. “But despite the losses, we kept our heads up, we stayed together, and we became even closer friends. The stats won’t show it, and the record won’t show it, but it was a special season.”
Sells, who averaged almost 20 points a game, is headed to N.C. State to study engineering, but he hasn’t ruled out trying to make the basketball team as a walk-on.
• A.L. Brown’s girls ended the season with a 52-30 loss to Hough in the MECKA tournament. Bailey Vernon and Kelly Chrismon led the Wonders.
Caleb Henley (East Rowan) was the winning pitcher in relief in UNC Greensboro’s 9-8 win against Duke on Tuesday.
• Catawba (3-7) got a late two-run homer from Paul Kronenfeld and took a 7-4 win over Pfeiffer (5-5) on Wednesday at Newman Park.
Catawba used an error and a wild pitch to plate a pair of runs in the opening inning. Down 3-1 in the fifth, Pfeiffer tied it on a two-out, two-run single by Tanner Mathis.
The Indians answered in the home fifth. Craig Brooks delivered a two-out single to plate T.J. Wharton.
The Indians added another run in the sixth as Blake Houston (South Rowan) tripled and scored on a groundout by Ethan Satterfield.
In the eighth, Kronenfeld gave the Indians insurance runs with a two-run homer.
Pfeiffer got a run back in the ninth on a double by John Gray.
Houston and Kronenfeld had two hits for Catawba. Shaefer Shepard picked up the win in relief. He tossed 21/3 innings of scoreless ball.
Catawba will return to SAC action on Saturday against Newberry with a 4 p.m. doubleheader. The teams will close out the series on Sunday at 2 p.m.

East Rowan finished third in the 3A Midwest Regional team scores.
Qualifying to compete in the state tournament that starts today and ends Saturday in Greensboro were:
2A
Jeffrey Burton, Salisbury (182), Jaleel Hiitchens, North Rowan (138), Braxton Rabon, North Rowan (160)
3A
Logan Durham, South Rowan (106), Tyler Hall, South Rowan (126), Thomas Current, West Rowan (113), Zac Ridenhour, West Rowan (138), Brandon Sloop, Carson (160), Alex Lyles, Carson (285), Shiheem Saunders, East Rowan (170), Wyatt Blume, East Rowan (152), Sam Cornacchione, East Rowan (106), Max Wall, East Rowan (160)
4A
Alex Gobble, Davie (182),
Jack Robertson, Davie (195), Parker Correll, Davie (220), Keechan Ware, A.L. Brown (220), Avery Clinding, A.L. Brown (120), Isaiah Johnson, A.L. Brown (138), Nicholas Sexton, A.L. Brown (126), Jayquon McEntyre, A.L. Brown (106)
Livingstone’s women’s basketball team lost 66-54 at St. Augustine’s on Wednedsay in CIAA action.
Taylor Daniels scored 19 points for the Blue Bears, and Tiffany Evans added 12.
Catawba’s women lost 62-55 against SAC rival Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday at Goodman Gym.
L-R (20-4, 15-4) stayed tied for first place with Wingate. Catawba (12-11, 10-9) led by as many as nine points in the first half.
Jenni Gust led Lenoir-Rhyne with 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Former Central Davidson standout Jazmine Charles scored 11. Chloe Bully scored 12 for the Indians, Emma Ucinksi scored 11, and Antoinette McPhail tallied 10.

Centralina Crossover will have AAU basketball tryouts this Sunday. Middle school and high school girls will try out from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Middle school and high school boys try out from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The tryouts are at Christian Outreach of the Piedmont gymnasium, 1424 Richard Street in Statesville. For information please call (704) 881-0425.