Box Score AIKEN, S.C.--USC Aiken men's basketball team opened its 2005-06 campaign tonight at "the courthouse" against #14 Catawba College. The Pacers showed strength and talent going into half time tied at 46-46. The Indians burst through the gate in the second half and held on to an early lead, ending the game 96-83. USCA starts the regular season 0-1 while Catawba gets an early tag in the win column at 1-0.

Catawba had an early lead seven minutes into the game leading 14-6 but then the Pacer offense took charge and went on a 13-5 run in the next three minutes. USCA tied the game 19-19 with 10 minutes left in the first half. The intensity on the court soared for the Pacers as they kept within six for the remainder of the first half and went into the locker room tied at 46.

With the crowd on their side, the Pacers looked to continue its strength and jumped up for an early head start at 52-49 in its largest lead over the Indians during the second half. Catawba quickly turned up the heat and would go on to score 12 unanswered points in the next four minutes of game time. The Pacer offense would never recover from the deficit and couldn't get within nine points for the remainder of the game.

Kingsley Oguchi led the Pacer offense with 18 points, shooting 5-of-9 from the field and knocking down 7-of-8 free throws. Teammate Scotty Frater pulled down a team-high seven rebounds while adding seven points. 

Josh Poston chipped in 16 points, followed closely behind was Lukas Varga with 13.

Chris Wooldridge had a game-high 26 points for the Indians, while shooting 12-of-14 from the field. He also led Catawba in rebounds, pulling down seven for the night. Jamel Hamilton and Brian Graves had 15 and 11 points, respectively. 

The Pacers shot well from the charity stripe at 67.9 percent on the game and 71.4 in the first half. 

Catawba out-shot USCA in the paint 46-28 and were able to get 12 fast break points and hold the Pacers to just two. 

USC Aiken's next game will be this Saturday, November 19 at home vs. Benedict College. Tip off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score
Catawba vs. USC Aiken
11/15/05 7:30 PM at Aiken, S.C. (The Courthouse)

CATAWBA 96, USC AIKEN 83

CATAWBA (1-0)
Wooldridge, Chris 12-14 2-5 26; Hamilton, Jamel 6-14 1-2 15; Graves, Brian 4-10 1-3 11; Magnusson, Helgi 4-7 0-0 9; Thomson, Andy 2-6 3-4 7; Bartasius, Rokus 3-4 0-0 7; Murphy, Ahmad 2-5 2-3 6; Manning, Jolly 1-1 3-4 5; Diggs, Jason 2-4 1-4 5; Gibson, Jorvewe 1-1 0-0 2; Magnusson, Finnur 1-1 0-0 2; Moir, Jordan 0-0 1-2 1; Williams, Darion 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 38-67 14-27 96.

USC AIKEN (0-1)
Oguchi, Kingsley 5-9 7-8 18; Poston, Josh 5-8 3-4 16; Varga, Lukas 4-8 2-4 13; Blocker, Richard 3-5 1-2 9; Frater, Scotty 2-11 3-3 7; Sampson, Anthony 3-7 0-0 6; Burr, Kenny 1-3 3-5 6; Oates, Theo 2-7 0-0 4; Brown, Chris 1-4 0-0 2; Coates, Arnold 1-2 0-2 2; Glover, Richard 0-1 0-0 0; Woodbury, Terrence 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-67 19-28 83.

Catawba....................... 46 50 - 96
USC Aiken..................... 46 37 - 83

3-point goals-Catawba 6-18 (Hamilton, Jamel 2-6; Graves, Brian 2-4; Magnusson, Helgi 1-3; Bartasius, Rokus 1-1; Diggs, Jason 0-2; Murphy, Ahmad 0-2), USC Aiken 10-23 (Poston, Josh 3-5; Varga, Lukas 3-6; Blocker, Richard 2-4; Oguchi, Kingsley 1-3; Burr, Kenny 1-3; Glover, Richard 0-1; Brown, Chris 0-1). Fouled out--Catawba-None, USC Aiken-Coates, Arnold. Rebounds-Catawba 42 (Wooldridge, Chris 7), USC Aiken 37 (Frater, Scotty 7). Assists-Catawba 20 (Murphy, Ahmad 4; Graves, Brian 4), USC Aiken 17 (Oguchi, Kingsley 4; Poston, Josh 4). Total fouls-Catawba 25, USC Aiken 26. A-884