From staff and wire reports

Catawba’s men’s basketball team returned to action Wednesdsay and lost 83-78 to Erskine in Due West, S.C.

Catawba (5-5) shot 52 percent in the first half but 32 percent in the second.

Rakeen Brown led the Indians with 17 points. K.J. Arrington scored 12, while Jerrin Morrison and Vismantas Marijosius had 11 each.

DeShaun Hall led the Flying Fleet (4-5) with 21 points and also grabbed nine rebounds.   

Catawba gets back into SAC action Saturday, traveling to Anderson for a 4 p.m. tip.

Erskine 83, Catawba 78

CATAWBA (5-5)

Brown 17, Arrington 12, Morrison 11, Marijosius 11, Sampah 8, Sealey 7, Perkins 6, Taylor 4, Warren 2, Henderson.

ERSKINE (4-5)

Hall 21, Lock 15, Lungwana 12, Atwater 11, Daniel 9, Brown 6, Cameron 4, Wilkerson 3,  Spence 2.

Catawba 40  38  — 78

Erskine 42   41 — 83

Men’s basketball

Keshun Sherrill (West Rowan) had 18 points, four assists and no turnovers in 34 minutes of action in GRU Augusta’s  83-70 win against Wingate on Wednesday.

• Darius Moose (Carson) had 18 points and seven rebounds for Brevard in Wednesday’s  98-53 loss at Kentucky Wesleyan.

• Livingstone returns to action Thursday with a CIAA matchup at Bowie State.

• Isaiah Cuthbertson (West Rowan) had seven points and six rebounds in Mars Hill’s 92-48 loss to UNC Greensboro on Wednesday.

Women’s basketball

Catawba’s women’s basketball team returned to action on Tuesday with an 81-64 loss at Appalachian State.

Catawba (5-5) got 20 points from Bri Johnson, 16 from Chloe Bully and nine from Janna Dixon.

Johnson had seven boards. Bully had four assists.

Keke Copper and Katelyn Doub scored 12 each for the Mountaineers (4-4).

Catawba is at Anderson on Saturday afternoon.

• Livingstone plays at Bowie State Thursday.

• Ayana Avery (West Rowan) scored 10 points in Radford’s 76-60 win against Gardner-Webb on Tuesday.

Avery surpassed 1,000 points for her career. She has 1,003.

Jessica Heilig (Salisbury) scored 10 for the Bulldogs.

• Charlotte’s Ayanna Holmes (Salisbury) and Olivia Rankin (Salisbury) scored five points each in a 54-52 loss at Utah. Holmes had five assists.

• Brielle Blaire (North Rowan) is transferring from Virginia Tech but hasn’t made a decision yet on her next destination.

Hornets lose 102-83

HOUSTON   — James Harden scored 36 points, and Houston bounced back from consecutive losses.

A big run to start the third quarter put the Rockets well ahead, and Harden put it away when he scored eight straight points to push the advantage to 99-79 with 2 1/2 minutes remaining and send the starters to the bench.

The loss extends Charlotte’s skid to four games. The Hornets played without leading scorer Al Jefferson, who is out with a left groin strain.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Gerald Henderson scored 16 points apiece for the Hornets.

Hurricanes fall 2-1

PITTSBURGH   — Brandon Sutter scored the winning goal with 1:42 left to lift Pittsburgh over Carolina on Wednesday. Sutter, acquired from Carolina in 2012, scored his eighth of the season.

Beau Bennett, playing for the first time in 16 games, set up both Penguins’ goals.

Eric Staal scored his ninth goal of the season and second in two games for Carolina. The Hurricanes, who lost for the 11th time in 13 games, managed just 16 goals during that span.