SALISBURY, N.C. - The Newberry Wolves men's basketball team started conference play with a huge road win Tuesday night as they defeated the regionally ranked Catawba College Catawba Indians 91-84 in double overtime. The win moves Newberry to 4-1 (1-0 SAC) on the season.

The game started off poorly for the Wolves as Catawba got out to an early 5-0 lead. TJ Brown then quickly got Newberry on the board with a three pointer, but the Catawba Indians raced out to a seven point lead on a three pointer by Zaqwuan Matthews, one of six three pointers he would make in the contest. The Wolves responded with a 7-0 run to take the lead as QuanDaveon McCollum scored four quick points. Newberry would continue to lead for the rest of the half.

From then on, the Wolves extended their lead out as Angelo Sales, Jr. scored four consecutive baskets to give Newberry a nine point lead. Catawba would keep the game within striking distance and closed the lead to seven points, but Sales, Jr. hit a three pointers to give the Wolves their first double digit lead at 30-20. A three pointer by Marcus Ford and two free throws by Sales, Jr. were the only points that Newberry would score for the rest of the half, but the defense held strong and helped the Wolves take a 35-22 lead into the break.

After the break, the offensive tempo picked up for both teams as the score was 45-31 less than three minutes into the second half. TJ Brown hit a layup to give the Wolves a 14 point lead before the Catawba Indians began to make a run. Consecutive three pointers by Matthews closed the lead to just four points just over five minutes into the half, and the game was tight the rest of the way. A completed and-one by Sales, Jr. gave the Wolves a five point lead with 12 minutes left, but the game was just heating up.

A three pointer by Callan Low, which constituted his only points of the contest, gave Newberry a brief eight point lead with just under 11 minutes to play but Catawba was nowhere near done and made another run. A Terrence Whitfield layup and two Larry McLeod free throws closed the gap to two points with less than 10 minutes remaining. 
Whitfield hit a three pointer just over a minute later to draw Catawba within one. The game continued to be played within one possession before Jalen Johnson hit a three pointer with five and a half minutes to play to give the Wolves a four point lead at 62-58.

Catawba evened the score with less than four minutes remaining as Daquan Lilly made a paint shot to tie the contest at 62. The game continued to see-saw; then McCollum hit a shot in the paint with under two minutes remaining to give Newberry a two point lead. A Marcell Haskett three pointer with forty-two seconds remaining gave the Catawba Indians their first lead of the second half. After a TJ Brown turnover, Catawba had a chance to take a three point lead but converted just one of the two free throws, giving them a two point lead with 24 seconds remaining. The Wolves got the ball to Sales, Jr. in an attempt to tie the ballgame but his shot was blocked; however, he recovered his own shot and Luke Gibson then hit a shot just before the buzzer to send the game into overtime.

The Wolves won the tip in overtime and McCollum immediately converted an and-one to give Newberry a three point lead. Marshall Lange extended the lead out to four points just over a minute later as he hit a three pointer, then a free throw and a layup by Sales, Jr. gave the Wolves what seemed like an insurmountable seven point lead with 2:20 left. However, the Catawba Indians went on a 7-0 run capped by a Matthews three pointer to send the game into double overtime tied at 79.

Newberry again struck first in the second overtime as Gibson scored five points to give the Wolves an 84-79 lead. A Marcus Ford layup extended the lead out to seven points before the Catawba Indians scored to cut the lead to five. A layup by Lange extended the lead back out to seven points, and Catawba began to miss multiple opportunities at the free throw line. Although a steal and layup by Malik Constantine gave the Catawba Indians a fighting chance with 46 seconds left, three combined free throws from Lange and Gibson closed out the game and gave the Wolves a 91-84 victory.

Sales, Jr. led all scorers with 25 points and completed an elusive 20-20 game with a career high 20 rebounds. He was joined in double figures by McCollum, who had 15 points and seven rebounds before fouling out in overtime, Gibson, who had 13 points, Lange, who had 12 points and matched McCollum with seven boards, and TJ Brown, who finished with 11 points and five rebounds.

The Wolves will look to extend their winning streak to four games on Saturday as they take on Mars Hill on the road at 4 p.m.