The FTCC Men won a close game at Catawba Valley, 98-97. This was a good win, and once again sets the team up for a strong run in the conference. They finished the first half at 6-4 with their eye on the games they should have won. They have a real chance to get a high seed in the conference tournament, if they can repeat this record the second time through the conference.
The scoring opened slowly for both teams, with the Trojans holding a small lead most of the first half. CJ Miller and Jabari Bowman were the most effective scorers for the Trojans, with 10 and 8 pts., respectively. Nick Kuhns and Xavier Adams each had 5 pts. Williams had three 3 pt. shots and Starr hit his only basket of the night,a 3 pt., with just seconds in the half, to close their flurry for CVCC with a 43-40 lead. Both teams were trying to see what would work, as they prepared for the second half. Catawba Valley swept the series last year with two close wins, and Coach Hurd was ready to make adjustments for the second half tonight.
For the first time this year, the Trojans were held with a made 3 pt. shot in the game. That did not stop their scoring, as they attacked the basket and were able to get four CVCC players to foul out of the game. Nick Kuhns had 15 of his 20 pts. in the second half to lead the Trojans, and Bowman and Johnny Hughes each had 12 pts. With the foul trouble, came a lot of time at the line where they were 25-38. They closed the game with 12 straight pts. on free throws.
Although CVCC made a run to close the game, their half-court shot at the buzzer was not enough to close the gap. This was another game to announce the much improved Trojans in their second year.
FTCC 40 58 98
CVCC 43 44 97
FTCC Haymer, 2, Adams, 7, Chavis, 5, Kuhns, 20, Bowman, 20, Guthrie, 5, Stover, 6, Miller, 6, Hughes, 6
3 Pt. 0
Fouls Haymer, 1, Adams, 4, Chavis, 2, Kuhns, 2, Bowman, 1, Guthrie, 2, Stover, 2, Miller, 5, Hughes, 5, Edwards, 3
CVCC Oglesbee, 20, Talley, 11, Williams, 14, Bryson, 2, Starr, 3, Palmer, 3, Ruszala, 20, Garey, 9, Johnson, 14
3 Pt. 9, Oglesbee, 2, Talley, 1, Williams, 4, Starr, 1, Palmer, 1
Fouls Oglesbee, 5, Talley, 5, Williams, 5, Bryson, 2, Starr, 5, Ruszala, 2, Boyd, 3, Garey, 4, Johnson, 4