Wednesday, January 10, 2007

GRAVES’ THREE PACES CATAWBA TO 53-50 WIN AGAINST TUSCULUM

SALISBURY, N.C. --- Brian Graves canned a three-pointer with 12 seconds left in the game as Catawba College defeated visiting Tusculum College 53-50 Wednesday night in South Atlantic Conference men’s basketball action at Goodman Gym. Graves finished with 11 points as the Catawba Indians even their record at 7-7 overall and 2-1 in the league.

Tusculum (7-7, 0-4 SAC) was led by Chris Poore, who accounted for 15 points, while Jordan Lear posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Graves recorded his two treys in the final four minutes of the contest. The first came at the 3:51 mark to give Catawba a 50-49 advantage. From there, both defenses stepped up as the teams would miss their next seven shots combined. Lear tied the game at 50-50 with 54 seconds remaining as he made one of two free throws.

On its ensuing possession, Graves missed his jumper, but Antonio Houston came down with a key rebound setting up Graves’ eventual game-winner. TC got one last chance to tie the game, but Lear’s three-pointer at the horn was off target preserving the Catawba win.

Defense was the name of the game on the evening as Tusculum was held to 32.7 percent shooting, the Pioneers limited the Catawba Indians to just 31.7 percent from the floor.

Graves also added eight rebounds, while Chris Woolridge tallied 11 points and eight boards in the win. Tusculum’s Gabe Story recorded six points and six rebounds in the loss.

Tusculum returns home Saturday afternoon to host Brevard College for a 4 p.m. non-conference tilt at Pioneer Arena.

- TC -

Newspaper Box Score

Tusculum vs Catawba

1/10/07 8:15 pm at Salisbury, N.C. (Goodman Gym)

At Salisbury, N.C. (Goodman Gym)

CATAWBA 53, TUSCULUM 50

TUSCULUM (7-7, 0-4 SAC)

Poore, Chris 5-13 5-7 15; Lear, Jordan 4-9 5-8 14; Poppe, Serge 2-8 0-0 6; Story, Gabe 3-5 0-1 6; Minnefee, Larry 2-5 0-0 5; Boone, Jimmy 1-3 1-2 4; Poindexter, Corey 0-3 0-0 0; White, Tyler 0-1 0-0 0; Williams, Eric 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 17-52 11-18 50.

CATAWBA (7-7, 2-1 SAC)

Wooldridge, Chris 4-11 3-4 11; Graves, Brian 4-11 1-2 11; Houston, Antonio 2-12 2-2 7; Monroe, Norman 3-6 0-2 6; Magnusson, Finnur 1-1 1-4 4; Murphy, Ahmad 2-6 0-2 4; Diggs, Jason 2-4 0-2 4; Rose, Isaac 0-5 2-2 2; Fields, Rob 1-2 0-0 2; Brinkley, Montrell 1-2 0-0 2; Williams, Donzell 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 20-63 9-20 53.

Tusculum...................... 27 23 - 50

Catawba....................... 29 24 - 53

3-point goals-Tusculum 5-18 (Poppe, Serge 2-6; Minnefee, Larry 1-2; Lear, Jordan 1-3; Boone, Jimmy 1-3; Poindexter, Corey 0-1; White, Tyler 0-1; Williams, Eric 0-2), Catawba 4-15 (Graves, Brian 2-5; Houston, Antonio 1-3; Magnusson, Finnur 1-1; Diggs, Jason 0-2; Rose, Isaac 0-3; Williams, Donzell 0-1). Fouled out--Tusculum-None, Catawba-None. Rebounds-Tusculum 47 (Lear, Jordan 10), Catawba 42 (Wooldridge, Chris 8; Graves, Brian 8). Assists-Tusculum 11 (White, Tyler 6), Catawba 10 (Graves, Brian 3). Total fouls-Tusculum 17, Catawba 15. A-417