Storylines – vs. Catawba College
Head Coach Rob Perron's team will host UVA Wise Saturday night in the two teams' first meeting of the season. Catawba concluded the 2018-19 season with a 25-8 overall mark, 14-6 in the South Atlantic Conference. The Indians went on to win the SAC Tournament Championship with a 71-67 victory over Lenoir-Rhyne last March before advancing to the NCAA Southeast Region Semifinals where the team fell to fellow SAC member Queens (N.C.) in a 96-93 decision. Catawba was selected to finish third in this year's preseason coaches' poll, placing seniors Marcell Haskett and Devin Cooper on the preseason All-SAC first and second team, respectively. Haskett finished his junior season averaging 14.5 points per game while Cooper netted 11.3 ppg and was named the SAC Tournament MVP.  This season, Cooper has reemerged as Catawba's leading scorer, recording 19.3 ppg and adding a team-high 3.3 assists per contest. Haskett follows with 17 ppg and three apg to start this season. Senior Daquan Lily leads his squad in rebounding this year averaging seven boards per game while junior Larry McLeod has registered 6.3 rpg alongside 11.3 ppg. Catawba currently holds a 5-2 overall mark and are 1-1 in the SAC following a double-overtime loss to Newberry, 91-84, prior to the Indians most recent win at Tusculum, 75-71. Catawba will go on the road for a contest at Mars Hill next Saturday with tip set for 4 p.m.

About UVA Wise
The Cavalier men will look to pick up their second league win of the season as the team begins the road portion of their conference slate against Catawba Saturday. UVA Wise is coming off a four-game homestand where the team went 3-1 including an emphatic league victory over Anderson (S.C.) last Saturday, 90-75. In the win, sophomore Cameron Whiteside tied his season-high 23 points as he led the Cavs in scoring while shooting 80 percent (8-for-10) from the field, 50 percent (2-for-4) from three, and 100 percent (5-for-5) from the charity stripe. Whiteside and senior Eric Okenchi led UVA Wise in rebounding with seven boards apiece. Whiteside continues to lead UVA Wise in scoring averaging 17 points per game (T-8th in the SAC) while all five of the Cavs starters are averaging double-figures so far this season. Redshirt sophomore Briggs Parris' 3.3 made three pointers per game place him second among league leaders while Whiteside's 6.4 field goals per game rank him fourth in the conference. Senior Chance Sheffey's 5.4 assists per game place him atop the category in the league while freshman Drew Greene sits in the 10th spot with 3.7 apg. As a team, UVA Wise ranks second in the conference with 17.9 assists per game. Whiteside (4.7) leads the league in assist/turnover ratio while Sheffey (2.5) ranks fifth in the category. Sheffey and Greene's performance at the free throw line has the duo tied for second in the league with a 94.2 free throw percentage as the team ranks third (76.9 percent) in the conference. Coach Mellinger's team will return to Wise for a 4 p.m. matchup against Newberry next Saturday inside the David J. Prior Convocation Center.