Staff report
SALISBURY — Catawba’s men’s basketball team didn’t leave any doubt that it was one of the best eight teams in Division II’s three-conference Southeast Region, but it’s still a relief for everyone involved when your school’s name officially appears in the bracket.
Catawba got the good news that it’s in the tournament late Sunday night. The Indians are in the regional for the third year in a row.
The Indians (23-8) received the 3 seed, which is about all Indian fans could have hoped for, considering they didn’t win the South Atlantic Conference Tournament (they were runner-up) or the SAC regular season (they were third). The SAC tourney semifinal victory against Lenoir-Rhyne obviously made a difference for the Indians, as the Bears are the 4 seed in the regional.
Anderson will be the host and the team to beat in the regional. The Trojans (29-2), who took the SAC regular-season and tournament championships, may have to beat Catawba for a third time to get out of the regional, but the Indians have lots of work to do before they worry about the Trojans. The Indians open the regional against 6 seed Columbus State.
Second-seeded Lander (25-5) ruled the Peach Belt Conference, taking the tournament and regular-season championships. The other Peach Belt teams in the bracket are Columbus State (22-8) and 5 seed North Georgia (22-7).
The only team to make the bracket out of the sprawling, three division Conference Carolinas was the automatic team, Young Harris (22-8), the winner of the conference tournament.
As the 1 seed, Anderson gets 8 seed Young Harris in the first round.
Fourth-seeded L-R takes on North Georgia in the first round.
Lander is matched up with the fourth SAC team in the bracket, Lincoln Memorial. The Railsplitters (19-11) have the fewest wins and most losses of anyone in the field, but the program has terrific tradition and received the 7 seed.
All the quarterfinal games will be played on Saturday. The semifinals will be played Sunday. The regional championship game will be on Tuesday, March 17. Times will be announced.
Quarterfinal Matchups:
#1 Anderson (29-2) vs. #8 Young Harris (22-8)
#2 Lander (25-5) vs. #7 Lincoln Memorial (19-11)
#3 Catawba (23-8) vs. #6 Columbus State (22-8)
#4 Lenoir-Rhyne (24-8) vs. #5 North Georgia (22-7)
The Catawba College men’s basketball team is going dancing for the third consecutive season, earning the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Southeast Regional hosted by fellow South Atlantic Conference program Anderson per Sunday night’s selection show.
Catawba entered last week’s SAC Tournament ranked fourth in the region, then stormed to the championship game with firm defeats of UVA Wise and Lenoir-Rhyne before a one-possession loss to top-seeded Anderson. The overall effort – especially moving to 2-1 against LR, who was ranked second in the Southeast Region – convinced the committee to elevate the Catawba Indians into the third position.
The blue and white are entering their sixth NCAA Regional under Head Coach Rob Perron and 15th in school history. Perron, the winner of 207 games at Catawba, has guided the program to its fourth 20-win season in his tenure; the team’s 16 SAC wins ties the program record set two years ago.
