SALISBURY, N.C. – Though it was a tight battle throughout much of the game, the Newberry College men's basketball team lost to Catawba at Goodman Arena on Wednesday night, 85-76.
Caleb Byrd led Newberry (7-17, 6-13 SAC) in scoring for the second straight game with 18 points. He made 4 of 6 from long distance, made all four free throws and shot 5 for 8 overall. It's his sixth consecutive game reaching double-digit points.
Devario Sheppard added 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting with six makes at the foul line and a team-high seven rebounds.
James Lovorn netted 15 and
Malik Joseph 12 to put four Wolves in double figures. Lovorn also dished out a team-best five assists on the night.
The Wolves got off to a quick start and took a 9-2 lead just 2 minutes and 18 seconds into the game. That margin stayed relatively steady with the score reading 14-8 after Byrd hit a 3 with 13:44 left in the opening half.
An 8-0 run by Catawba (18-5, 15-4) gave them their first lead midway through the first half, 16-14. They eventually grew that lead to 30-23 and took a 33-27 advantage into halftime.
A combined trio of trifectas from
Jalen Johnson and Lovorn to start the second half brought the Wolves right back in it at 37-36 two minutes in. Byrd hit a pair from the line and Johnson canned another 3-pointer to give the Wolves a 41-39 lead with 16:32 to go in the game.
Newberry's last lead of the night came a minute later when Lovorn drilled a jumper to make it 43-42. The Indians went on a 6-0 run to regain a five-point lead and went up 57-50 with 11:22 left.
The Scarlet and Gray got as close as three points (57-54, 61-58 and 63-60) before Catawba reached a game-high 17-point cushion, 77-60, with less than four minutes remaining.
Newberry made a final push in the form of a 16-8 spurt to finish the game.
Despite the loss the Wolves had a solid shooting night making 26 of 48 from the floor (54.2%), 12 of 23 from 3-point range (52.2%) and 12 of 15 from the foul line (80%).
Newberry concludes the 2023-24 campaign on Saturday (March 2) with a road date against Coker. Tipoff in Hartsville is scheduled for 4 p.m.
