NEWBERRY - Despite six three pointers and 20 points from senior guard Luke Gibson, the Newberry Wolves men's basketball team fell to Catawba by a score of 89-86 in overtime at Eleazer Arena Wednesday evening. The loss drops the Wolves to 11-8 (7-6 SAC) on the season.

The first half was a tightly contested one, with neither team gaining much of an edge. QuanDaveon McCollum got Newberry on the board with a layup before Devin Cooper and Marcell Haskett combined for five points to give Catawba the lead. A short jumper by Gibson, two layups by TJ Brown, and a three pointer by McCollum gave the Wolves an early six point lead, but Larry McLeod responded with a putback dunk to quiet the crowd. Brown hit a three pointer to extend the lead to seven, but the Indians clawed their way back into a 14-14 tie with 11 minutes to play in the half.

Gibson then made his first three pointer of the evening and the Wolves regained the lead, but Daquan Lilly threw down a dunk to cut the deficit to one. Callan Low and Haskett traded three pointers; then Marshall Lange and Haskett traded jumpers before consecutive three pointers by McLeod and Zaqwaun Matthews gave the Indians a five point lead. Malik Constantine then hit a shot to stretch the lead out to seven before Marcus Ford made his first bucket of the night. After two Catawba free throws, an Angelo Sales, Jr. layup and a Ford three pointer cut the lead to two.

Haskett and Terrence Whitfield then combined for five consecutive points before Ford hit another three pointer. Four points by Brown via a free throw and a three pointer tied the game before Lilly made a layup with 12 seconds on the clock. Gibson then took the inbound pass and dribbled up the left side before netting a 28 footer just before the halftime buzzer to give Newberry a one point lead at the break.

The Wolves then came out hot in the second half as Lange and Gibson hit three pointers to extend the lead to seven. After Lilly hit a three pointer of his own, Lange hit a second one to keep the lead at seven before Devin Cooper hit a three pointer to slice the lead down to four points. Matthews then scored five consecutive points to give Catawba the lead before Constantine scored four points of his own, including a dunk, to stretch the lead out to five. Sales, Jr. hit a three pointer on the next possession to keep it a one possession game before Cooper netted another three pointer, setting up a back and forth final twelve minutes.

After both teams scored again and Cooper converted an and-one to give the Indians a six point lead, Ford hit his third three pointer of the evening before matching a Constantine bucket to keep the game within striking distance. The game was within one possession when Lange drove down the lane and banked in a tough layup to make it 65-62 with seven and a half minutes to play. He then made another short shot with less than six minutes to play to make it a two point game, but Matthews hit another of his five three pointer to push the lead back to five.

Gibson then made another three pointer, but Matthews matched him. Jumpers by Lange and Cooper cancelled each other out and the Catawba lead was five with less than three minutes on the clock. After two free throws by Sales, Jr. and Constantine, Gibson made yet another three pointer to make the score 76-74. Constantine then made two free throws, but Gibson walked up the right side and hit another deep three to cut the lead to one with 29 seconds left. Cooper went to the line with a chance to put the Indians up by three, but only made one free throw. McLeod then fouled out while jumping over McCollum's back, and McCollum drained two clutch free throws to send the game into overtime.

 Brown initially gave the Wolves a two point lead in overtime as he was fouled and made both free throws, but Constantine matched him with a layup. McCollum and Cooper traded free throws before Sales, Jr. made a layup off a beautiful dish by Brown. Matthews then made yet another three pointer to put the Indians up by one, but Lange drove down the lane and made a shot with less than 40 seconds on the clock to retake the lead. 

After a timeout, Lilly made a layup, leading to another timeout. Sales, Jr. then got the ball and was double teamed, but was able to find Low under the basket. Low had two chances to convert right at the rim and did not, leading to a foul and two more Constantine free throws. Gibson was able to get off a halfcourt shot at the buzzer, but it was well off.

Gibson led the Wolves with 20 points, while Lange had a season high 16. Brown owned the backboards and finished with 15 points and a career high 13 rebounds for a double double, while Ford had 13 points and McCollum had 10.

Newberry will look to bounce back on the road this coming Saturday as they will face Tusculum.