By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — It was Catawba’s annual “Reading Day” basketball game, with droves of elementary and middle school children pouring into Goodman Gym for a matinee.
Hopefully, some kids got excited about books — and even newspapers. Catawba redshirt freshman Malik Constantine definitely got the youngsters excited about dunks. He had four slams and 23 points as the Indians held off Johnson C. Smith, 80-77.
“My teammates created a wave of energy,” Constantine said. “I just rode it.”
The school kids roared when Catawba scored and they roared when Catawba didn’t score. It was a deafening atmosphere from start to finish, sort of like a Christmas tournament championship game being played at 11 a.m.
It wasn’t decided until a 3-point attempt by the Bulls just missed as the horn sounded.
“Those kids in the stands gave us a boost today,” said Jeremy McLaughlin, who played well off the bench for the Indians. “They put a lot of excitement in the gym.”
Constantine was everywhere in the first half. He’s 6-foot-6, but so long that he covers the court like a 6-9 guy. He piled up 15 points in the first half, scoring every way imaginable — throw-downs, post-ups, driving and-ones, and even a smooth 3-pointer.
“He showed that full array of offensive skills that he has,” Catawba coach Rob Perron said.
Catawba led 29-28 late in the first half, but Constantine fueled a surge as the Indians outscored the Bulls, 12-3. The Indians closed the half with a Jameel Taylor drive-and-kick pass out to Jerrin Morrison, and Morrison’s high-rising 3-pointer put the Indians on top, 42-31.
The halftime stat sheet showed high-scoring Catawba senior K.J. Arrington with zero points, but that wasn’t going to last. Arrington would be huge before the day was over.
Catawba (8-2) maintained control most of the second half, but the Bulls (3-6) wouldn’t wilt.
Arrington, a crafty, creative scorer carried the load for the Indians after the break, unleashing his whole bag of tricks to score 17 points.
“We had no answer for 4 (Arrington) and we had no answer for 40 (Constantine),” Joyner said.
Still, Catawba’s lead dripped away.
“The 1-3-1 zone was good to us, but they made tough shots in the second half to fight their way back into the game,” Perron said. “They’re well-coached. Coach (Stephen) Joyner has been doing what he does a long time (30 years), and his team executed well.”
The battling Bulls finally got even for the first time at 73-all with 3:24 left when guard Robert Davis, who scored 18 points, got two on a layup.
Constantine answered with a jumper.
Then Constantine stuck back his own missed layup for a 77-73 lead with 1:53 on the clock.
“I saw the man guarding me signal to the bench that he was tired, so I went at him,” Constantine said.
Christian Williams who had 14 points and 13 boards, tipped in a shot for the Bulls with 1:38 left, and the Indians led 77-75.
On the next possession, Catawba got two chances. Morrison missed a jumper, but Taylor battled for the offensive rebound and the Indians reset. This time the ball went to Arrington, and he invented a baby hook from the right baseline. He casually flipped it in to make it a four-point game with 1:08 remaining.
“Guys took turns,” Perron said. “It’s like putting up the ‘Hot Sign’ at Krispy Kreme. K.J. was that hot guy and his teammates found him.”
Catawba still wasn’t out of the woods.
Williams made two free throws for the Bulls, and when Taylor missed with 16 seconds left, the Bulls got the ball back, trailing, 79-77. Davis drove but missed inside with eight seconds left. Catawba big man Troy Warren wasn’t able to secure the rebound, but he swatted it to Taylor.
Arrington was at the line for a one-and-one with five seconds left and with a chance to seal victory, but his free throw wiggled off the front rim. But that’s when Morrison soared for the game’s biggest rebound.
“You can’t allow an offensive rebound on a missed free throw,” Joyner said. “That was a devastating play for us.”
Perron had pulled the other Indians off the foul line, but he’d left Morrison there with one purpose. If the shot was short, Morrison, who is built like an NFL wideout, had a chance to get it back without fouling.
“Pound for pound, Jerrin is one of the strongest guys in our league,” Perron said. “He just kind of bull-rushed their guy on that rebound like he was a defensive end. That’s a play he’s probably made a dozen times in his career.”
The Bulls had to foul Morrison, who went to the line to shoot two. He missed the first but made the second. Catawba led 80-77 with 3.5 seconds left, and the Bulls had to go the length of the court.
“We didn’t want to foul because their guy might be able to get up a shot when we were in the act of fouling,” Perron said. “They ran a little line play on the inbounds, and we switched. That left them with a tough shot, with their guy going full-speed.”
Reserve guard Ben Sealey wound up on Davis on the game’s final shot, and he contested the 3-point attempt from deep on the right wing. The ball glanced off the iron, and the Indians owned their fifth straight win.
“A game of runs,” Constantine said. “But we stayed focus. We stayed positive.”
Catawba players jumped into the bleachers to high-five school kids after the game. It was a funny scene as 6-foot-6 guys high-fived 4-foot-6 guys and girls.
Joyner, who has been around the longest, put “Reading Day” into perspective.
“Hopefully, both teams created some excitement for all those kids,” he said. “And hopefully all those kids will go to college.”
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NOTES: Catawba blocked 10 shots, probably the most for the Indians since they had Tyrece Little patrolling the paint. Taylor, a 6-foot-3 guard, had four blocks, to go along with 13 points and six assists. Constantine, Morrison and McLaughlin blocked two shots each. … North Rowan graduate Malik Ford had six points, four rebounds and two blocks for the Bulls in 16 minutes. Joyner said Ford is making some strides. … North grad Michael Bowman will miss the rest of J.C. Smith’s season with an ACL injury. “He’s had an injury-riddled career,” Joyner said. “It’s unfortunate. He probably would’ve been a starter this year.”… Catawba has South Atlantic Conference games at Carson-Newman (Wednesday) and Anderson (Saturday). The Indians won’t be home again until they take on Queens on Jan. 4.

JOHNSON C. SMITH (77) — Davis 18, C. Williams 14, G. Williams 13, Kirchman 12, Ford 6, Adair 6, Minor 4, Chapman, McKinney.
CATAWBA (80) — Constantine 23, Arrington 17, Taylor 13, Morrison 12, Warren 6, McLaughlin 5, Brown 2, Ingram 2, Sealey, McGregor.

J.C. Smith   31  46 — 77
Catawba       42  38 — 80