From staff  and wire reports

Catawba men’s basketball team fell 109-98 to Newberry  in SAC action on Wednesday night at Eleazer Arena.

Kijaun Arrington scored 30 for the Indians (5-7, 3-4) and pulled down 11 rebounds.

Jerrin Morrison had 19 points and 11 boards. Ben Sealey hit four  3-pointers and scored 16.

Newberry, ranked 24th, improved to 12-1 and 6-1. The Wolves’ lone loss was to unbeaten Lincoln Memorial.

Catawba had a 12-0 first-half run on 3-pointers by  Sealy, Arrington, Morrison and Rakeen Brown and  led 46-44 at the break.

Demarkus Smith led Newberry with 25 points.   Brandon Taylor had 21.

Catawba shot 44.9 percent  from the field and 12-of-27 on 3-pointers.

Newberry shot  48.6 percent and made 13 3-pointers.

Catawba hosts Brevard on Saturday afternoon.

Newberry 109, Catawba 98

CATAWBA (5-7, 3-4)

Arrington 30, Morrison 19, Sealey 16, J. Taylor 9, Brown 5, Warren 5, Ingram 5, Sampah 5, Perkins 2, Marijosius 2, Henderson.

NEWBERRY (12-1, 6-1)

Smith 25, B. Taylor 21, Walker 16, Evns 14, Holmes 10, Stepp 9, Riggs 8, Ashby 6.

Catawba       46   52           —   98

Newberry     44   65           — 109

Catawba women

Newberry’s women rallied to beat Catawba 64-60  in SAC action on Wednesday at Eleazar Arena.

Jada Huntley scored 21 points for Catawba and pulled down 21 rebounds. Chloe Bully  and Bri Johnson scored 11 each.

Newberry (9-4, 5-2)  trailed for 37 minutes, but junior guard Samantha Creed scored 12 of the Wolves’ last 13 points. Her jumper gave Newberry the lead for good with 1:57 remaining in the contest. She finished with 25 points and six assists.

Senior forward Haylee Lepaio had 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Wolves.

The Indians (6-6, 3-4) led 33-24 at halftime and by as many as 13 points in the second half.

Newberry 64, Catawba 60

CATAWBA (6-6, 3-4)

Huntley 21, Bully 11, Johnson 11, Greer 8, K. Brown 4, Tamasauskaite 3, Dixon 2, Richardson,  Ucinski, Rogers.

NEWBERRY (9-4, 5-2)

Creed 25, Lepaio 17, Pearson 11, Schultz 4, Handreck 3, Dunsmore 2, Perry 2.

Catawba       33    27          — 60

Newberry     24   40           — 64

Livingstone women

Livingstone’s Kyra Crosby was honored as CIAA Newcomer of the Week.

She averaged 17.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in two games and shot 66.7 percent.

• Livingstone’s Anita Howard was honored as CIAA Coach of the Week.

Livingstone is 12-0 entering Thursday’s home game at 5:30 p.m. with Elizabeth City State.

Parnell signs contract

The New York Mets and reliever Bobby Parnell  (East Rowan) came to terms on a contract for 2015.

Parnell avoided salary arbitration. The contract will be worth $3.7 million, the   same salary he was paid for 2014.

Parnell made only one appearance for the Mets last season before undergoing Tommy John surgery  in April.

Parnell, 30, had a 2.16 ERA and 22 saves in 2013 and has a good chance to regain the closer’s job with the Mets.

8th-grade hoops

North Rowan Middle’s boys won 49-39 against Knox   to stay undefeated.

The Mavericks (11-0) had a 17-point lead cut down to eight in the fourth quarter but held on.

Brevin Goodlett and Cameron Gill scored 11 points each. Goodlett had eight rebounds and five steals. Gill had five steals.

Dajawon Cook had six points and 10 rebounds. Quintous Smith added eight points and six rebounds. Jaden Perry had six steals and six points. Derrick Paige added seven points.

Knox was led by Isaiah Rankin with 12 points and Raheim Walker with 11. Hassan Biggus scored seven.

North Rowan Middle travels to China Grove onThursday.

• Knox’s girls stayed unbeaten (11-0) with a 46-26 win against North Rowan Middle.

Bryanna Troutman scored 25 for the Trojans. Tacorra Robinson had 10.

McKenzie Shoaf had eight for North Rowan.

Prep basketball

Davie County’s boys lost to McKinnon Basketball of Australia 78-53 on Wednesday.

Cooper Wall led the War Eagles with 12 points.

• A.L. Brown’s girls improved to 8-2 with a 54-29 non-conferene win against Concord.

Ataina Grant scored 16 for the Wonders, while Talethia Alexander had 13.

• In West Rowan’s 54-49 loss at Cox Mill on Tuesday,  Celexus Long led the Falcons with 17 points.

Greg Joseph scored 12, and Amara Morris had 10.

Prep baseball

East Rowan senior pitcher Harrison Bell has committed to the University of Charleston.

Salisbury Academy

Salisbury Academy’s jayvee girls won 20-14 against Sacred Heart. The game was tied after three quarters.

Maggie Dees scored six points to lead the Jaguars. 

Parks and Rec   

Salisbury Parks and Recreation is accepting registration for girls basketball leagues for ages 7-15 and  a coed basketball league for ages 5-6.

Register online until Jan. 12 at www.salisburync.gov/play.  For further information, call 704-638-5289.

Jayvee boys

East Rowan defeated Central Cabarrus 53-42 Tuesday.

East was led by Franklin Downing with 13 points and Ellis Taylor with 12.  Isaac Baker scored 10, while Bryson Sprinkle had nine.

ACC hoops

LOUISVILLE, Ky.   — Chris Jones had his second straight 20-point second half to help fifth-ranked Louisville rally past Clemson 58-52 on Wednesday night.

Louisville trailed 22-18 at halftime after shooting 22 percent, but Jones and fellow guard Terry Rozier helped the Cardinals (14-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) snap out of their funk with a 17-0 run to open the second half that featured big plays on both ends.

Jones’ three 3-pointers and 7-of-9 free throw shooting were crucial, especially consecutive long-range shots that gave Louisville a 42-32 lead and thwarted Clemson’s momentum.

Rozier added 15 points, six rebounds and four assists as Louisville won its ACC home debut.

Syracuse 46, Ga. Tech 45

ATLANTA — Jim Boeheim, now in his 39th season at Syracuse, summed up what he had just witnessed.

“It was, without a doubt, the worst offensive game I’ve ever seen,” said Boeheim, college basketball’s No. 2 career winningest coach. “I can’t say anything else. I mean literally. I can’t describe it.”

Rakeem Christmas scored 18 points and hit the go-ahead free throw with 12 seconds remaining to help Syracuse edge Georgia Tech 46-45 on Wednesday night.

Georgia Tech’s Chris Bolden missed a straightaway 3-point attempt with 2 seconds left and Quinton Stephens blew a putback opportunity under the basket as the buzzer sounded.

SAC hoops

Darius Moose (Carson) scored 15 points in Brevard’s 81-79 win against Tusculum on Wednesday.