Catawba Sports Information

MARS HILL — Catawba put a good note to the end of its men’s basketball season with a 103-94 win over Mars Hill on Saturday afternoon at Stanford Arena.

Lone senior Jerrin Morrison went out in style as he canned 33 points in leading the Indians. Catawba finishes its season at 11-15 overall and 7-13 in the South Atlantic Conference. Mars Hill concludes its at 4-24 and 1-19.

Neither team qualified for next week’s SAC Tournament.

Morrison hit on 13-of-22 shots and was 6-for-10 from behind the 3-point arc. He finishes his career as the school’s No. 4 all-time scorer with 1,781 points.

Carter Phillips scored 17 points off the bench, while Malik Constantine collected a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Behind Morrison’s 21 first-half points, Catawba led virtually the entire 20 minutes. The Indians build as much as a 12-point lead and took a 50-44 edge to the break.

The lead was gone just over a minute into the second half. Two baskets by Bennett Wilson around a three-pointer by Luke Van-Rijn put Mars Hill on top, 51-50.

Catawba responded quickly, going on a 15-2 run to restore the 12-point bulge. A Jordan Barber 3-pointer started the run, with Constantine adding a three-point play and Morrison canning a 3-pointer.

Mars Hill got within four points with 13 minutes left, but each time the Lions got close, the Indians ran the lead back to double digits. The lead grew to as many as 15 points with six minutes remaining.

Both teams shot well, Mars Hill at 53 percent and Catawba at 51, and each committed just nine turnovers. Catawba held a 45-27 edge on the boards and outscored the Lions, 21-4, on second-chance points. The Indians had 13 offensive rebounds to three for Mars Hill.

Wilson put in 35 points for Mars Hill, hitting on 14-of-19 shots. Justen Hartfield added 21 and Van-Rijn 14. All five Lions’ starters reached double figures, but Mars Hill had just one point from its bench. Catawba received 39 points from its non-starters.

CATAWBA (103) — Constantine 14, McLaughlin 8, Barber 9, Childress, Morrison 33, Robinson 9, Phillips 17, McRae 1, Jeffers 1, Lachance, Giles, Johnson 9, Lentz 2, Cannon.

MARS HILL (94) — Watkins 13, Wilson 35, Hartfield 21, Van-Rijn 14, Hylton 10, Gilyard, Elkins, Reeves 1, Evans.

Catawba         50    53 — 103

Mars Hill       44    50 — 94