Catawba Knocks Off Armstrong Atlantic State In Men’s Basketball Regional

AUGUSTA, GA --- The sixth-seeded Catawba Indians pulled off the first upset of the NCAA Southeast Regional men's basketball tournament with a 74-67 win over the third-seeded Armstrong Atlantic State Pirates on Saturday afternoon at Christenberry Fieldhouse. The Indians, now 22-9, placed four players in double figures and advance to the regional semifinals on Sunday at 5 p.m. against No. 2-seed USC Aiken. The win is the first in the NCAA Tournament for Catawba since 1998, ending a streak of two consecutive first-round overtime losses in the last two years. AASU, ranked 25th in NCAA II, ends its season at 23-7.

Both teams made an identical 24 field goals and six three-pointers, but Catawba won the game at the free throw line, hitting 20 of 28 (.714) while Armstrong Atlantic State struggled, hitting only 13 of 23 (.565) from the stripe. The Indians also made just eight turnovers to help offset a 47-38 edge by AASU on the boards.

Antonio Houston (Charlotte, NC/E. Mecklenburg HS) led the Indians with 21 points, hitting seven of 15 from the field with three three-pointers. Rob Fields (Orangeburg, SC/Orangeburg-Wilkerson HS) came off the bench to add 17, including a 12-for-12 performance at the free throw line. The perfect afternoon from line was only two short of the school mark of 14 makes without miss which has occurred three times previously.

Also reaching double digits for Catawba was Dominick Reid (Charlotte, NC/Cannon School), with 13, and Cliff Burns (Cooleemee, NC/Davie Co. HS), who had 10 points and five blocked shots. Donald Rutherford (Morganton, NC/Freedom HS) had eight points to go with a game-high 12 rebounds.

T.T. Hall led Armstrong Atlantic State with 18 points and eight rebounds, although the senior hit only two of 13 three-point attempts. Dwight Tolbert added 17, while Brian Moultrie scored 13.

Both teams began the game strong and the score was tied at nine when back-to-back three pointers from Houston and Reid sparked a 10-0 Indians run. Armstrong Atlantic fought back with an 8-0 run of their own highlighted by a three-point play from Calvin Wilson that helped cut the lead to two.

Catawba boosted that lead back to 10 in the waning moments of the first half as Fields drained a three-pointer with 2:01 to play, but the Pirates responded once again with a 7-2 run capped by a three-pointer from Hall with five seconds remaining that cut the Indian lead to 35-30 at the break.

Armstrong Atlantic State took their first lead of the game 45-43 on a Keron McKenzie put back with 14:59 to play and led again 52-49 with 10:27 to go following a Hall layup. Catawba then went on a decisive 13-3 run over the next four minutes, seven of those scored by Fields, to open up a seven-point lead.

A Dwight Tolbert free throw with 2:06 to play cut the Indian lead to four, but Fields answered with a pair of free throws with 1:18 to play that gave Catawba a six-point lead AASU could not overcome. Catawba made 5-6 free throw attempts in the final minute while AASU missed four consecutive three-pointers on the same possession with fewer than 40 seconds to play.

Armstrong Atlantic State Head Coach Jeff Burkhamer
"We gave a good effort, we played hard. We could never really get control of the game. We had a couple of opportunities to seize control and I'll give them credit, they played well. We've not been a good free throw shooting team, really all year and that hurt us tonight when you get outshot at the free throw line by seven and lose by seven. I thought we fought through a lot of stuff."

"I thought our guys did a good job of containing their poise, fighting through things. And to Catawba's credit, they were a little more physical than we were and played to that strength."

Catawba Head Coach Jim Baker
"I'm proud of the way our kids played, it was a heck of a college game. I thought as the game went on; us being here again was a big difference. I felt like our poise and our confidence stayed the same. Out guards took over."

"We've kind of been snake bitten here. We've lost two times in a row on last-second, controversial endings and I'm tickled for our kids to get this done."

"We never had to go to plan B."

"That was our game plan: just grind, grind, grind. We kind of spurted but they came roaring back. We got down three and we just kept playing. Its not like we tightened up or anything like that. Being here before definitely had its advantages for us."

Catawba' Center Cliff Burns On the impact of having more fans:
"I think it made a difference. It always helps to have that home feel."

On being satisfied with a first-round win:
"Its good to get past the first round, finally.- But it would be settling to say we were okay with that. I think we'll be happy we got this win but also be kind of disappointed tomorrow if we go out and lose."

USC Aiken 88, Lenoir-Rhyne 70

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- No. 16-ranked and second-seeded USC Aiken shot a season-high 67.3 percent from the floor, hitting 33-of-49 shots en route to an 88-70 first-round victory over Lenoir-Rhyne at the 2009 NCAA DII Southeast Regional in Augusta, Ga., on Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers (24-7) advance to the semifinals to face No. 6 seed Catawba at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. Lenoir-Rhyne (18-10) sees its season come to an end in its fifth NCAA berth and second straight season advancing to the Regionals.

USC Aiken placed five players in double figures, led by All-American Chris Commons' 27 points on 12-of-15 shooting from the floor. Javonte Clanton added 19 points, including a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line, while Kingsley Oguchi chipped in 13 points, Cordaryl Ballard added 11 and Josh chipped in 10.

For Lenoir-Rhyne, Josh Rudder single-handedly kept the Bears within sight of the Pacers with a team-high 24 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor, including two three-pointers, and 10-of-11 from the free throw line. D.J. Blackmon added 14 points and Marcus Hodges chipped in 13.

Commons set the tone in the first half, hitting 7-of-8 shots from the floor, leading all scorers with 17 points before intermission. Sometimes drawing four players when he had the ball in his hands, the Toledo, Ohio, native made back-to-back layups late in the first half to push the lead to 35-24 with 3:24 remaining. Dollard ended the half with an exclamation three-pointer with three seconds left, giving the Pacers a 14-point lead at intermission.

In the second half, the Pacers only slightly cooled from the floor, hitting 16-of-24 shots (66.7 percent) and building a 62-42 lead on an Oguchi three-pointer with 11:23 left. Five straight points by Rudder, capped by a three-point play, would bring the Bears to within 12, 76-64, with 4:27 remaining but that would be as close as Lenoir-Rhyne would get.

USC Aiken's 67.3 percent from the floor was a season high, and the Pacers also hit 6-of-12 from three-point range (50 percent) and 16-of-21 shots from the free throw line (76.2 percent).

Lenoir-Rhyne hit 46.2 percent from the floor on the game (24-of-52 shots) and hit 6-of-16 shots from three-point range (37.5 percent). USC Aiken held a 32-17 edge in rebounding in the game.

Augusta State 62, Tusculum 60

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Top-seeded and fourth-ranked Augusta State survived a furious late-game charge by No. 8 seed Tusculum, winning 62-60, in the quarterfinals of the 2009 NCAA Southeast Regional on Saturday evening in Christenberry Fieldhouse.

With the victory, the host Jaguars (27-4) extended their winning streak to 13 straight and matched the school record for wins in a season with 27. ASU advanced to its third consecutive region semifinal, which will take place on 7:30 p.m. on Sunday evening. The Jags will face the winner of No. 4 seed GCSU and No. 5 seed Barton. Tusculum finishes its season at 20-11 in just its second NCAA Regionals berth in school history.

Trailing 62-60 with 13 seconds left, Tusculum guard Jimmy Boone came up with a steal of a Fred Brathwaite pass, but his off-balance three-pointer was short with two seconds left. Augusta State guard Steve Smith missed the front end of his one-and-one, but Tusculum was unable to get a quality shot off in the final 1.1 seconds after securing the rebound.

It was the stellar play of South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year Kyle Moore that willed the Pioneers back into the game late in the second half. Augusta State led by as many as 17 points after halftime, but a Moore layup cut the lead to single digits, 54-45, with 4:38 left, then Moore hit two three-pointers to make it 55-51 with 1:34 remaining. A 32' three-pointer by Moore from in front of the Tusculum bench made it a one-possession game, 60-57, with 22.9 seconds left, and another three-pointer by Ryan Troutman with 16.7 seconds left brought the score to two, 62-60, setting up the late-game drama.

Tusculum weathered an early Ben Madgen storm in the first half. Madgen scored 10 of the Jaguars' first 12 points as Augusta State opened up with a 12-7 lead. Tusculum got back-to-back three-pointers from Moore and a basket by Taylor Hobbs to take a 23-15 lead with 5:46 left in the first half.

Augusta State responded with a 13-2 run at the end of the half, sparked by a Fred Brathwaite three-pointer and a dunk on consecutive possessions, to take a 30-27 lead into halftime. Madgen's 10 points led the host Jaguars at halftime, while Moore had 12 at intermission to lead Tusculum.

The blistering play by Augusta State at the end of the half continued after halftime as the Jaguars scored the first six points of the second half on a Madgen steal and layup, a Garrett Siler dunk and a Greg Hire driving layup. The 25-4 run covering the final five minutes of the first half and the first five minutes of the second half was capped by back-to-back Madgen three-pointers, giving ASU a seemingly insurmountable 42-29 lead with 14:38 remaining.

Madgen led a trio of Jaguar players in double figures with 18 points. Garrett Siler recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds, his 19th straight game with double digit scoring. Fred Brathwaite added 16 points for the Jaguars.

Moore led the Pioneers on the night with his game-high 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the floor, which included 7-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc. Rob Troutman notched 14 points, while Ryan Troutman added 13 points on a perfect 3-of-3 night from three-point range.

Tusculum hit 11-of-20 shots from three-point range on the night (55 percent), but hit just 46.9 percent from the floor (23-of-49 shots). Augusta State hit 46.8 percent from the floor (22-of-47 shots), including 7-of-17 from three-point range (41.2 percent).

AUGUSTA STATE 62, TUSCULUM 60
TUSCULUM (20-11)
Moore, Kyle 8-16 0-0 23; Troutman, Rob 6-11 1-2 14; Troutman, Ryan 4-6 2-2 13; Bennett, Josh 2-7 0-0 4; Hobbs, Taylor 1-2 0-2 2; Taylor, Wes 1-5 0-0 2; Klempin, Tommy 1-1 0-0 2; Kostic, Marko 0-0 0-0 0; Boone, Jimmy 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-49 3-6 60.
AUGUSTA STATE (27-4)
Madgen, Ben 7-13 0-0 18; Brathwaite, Fred 5-9 5-6 16; Siler, Garret 6-8 3-4 15; Dixon, Daniel 1-5 1-2 4; Smith, Steve 1-3 1-3 4; Hire, Greg 1-4 0-0 2; Brown, Caleb 1-2 0-0 2; Killeen, Jason 0-1 1-2 1; Beal, Tye 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-47 11-17 62.
Tusculum...................... 27 33 - 60
Augusta State................. 30 32 - 62
3-point goals--Tusculum 11-20 (Moore, Kyle 7-12; Troutman, Ryan 3-3; Troutman, Rob 1-3; Boone, Jimmy 0-1; Hobbs, Taylor 0-1), Augusta State 7-17 (Madgen, Ben 4-7; Dixon, Daniel 1-5; Brathwaite, Fred 1-1; Smith, Steve 1-2; Beal, Tye 0-1; Brown, Caleb 0-1). Fouled out--Tusculum-Bennett, Josh, Augusta State-None. Rebounds--Tusculum 26 (Troutman, Ryan 10), Augusta State 30 (Siler, Garret 11). Assists--Tusculum 17 (Troutman, Ryan 7), Augusta State 15 (Smith, Steve 5). Total fouls--Tusculum 18, Augusta State 14. Technical fouls--Tusculum-None, Augusta State-None. A-2021
2009 NCAA Southeast Regional -- Quarterfinals, Game Three
Augusta State ranked No. 4 in NCAA Division II