HICKORY, N.C. — In a back-and-forth battle that went right down to the wire, the Catawba Valley Community College men's basketball team dropped its third-straight game on Saturday afternoon, falling 97-96 to visiting Fayetteville Tech at the Tarlton Complex.

Tied 85-85 with one minute, 45 seconds left, the Trojans (9-5, 6-4 in Region X) were able to gain separation late and make their free throws down the stretch to hold on for the victory.

Despite a made 3-point basket at the buzzer by the Red Hawks' Everett Palmer, CVCC lost by just one point.

Tyrell Oglesby scored 22 points to lead Catawba Valley (6-9, 1-5 in Region X) — the fifth 20-point performance this season by the freshman from Inman, S.C.

CVCC sophomore forward Steve Ruszala added 19 points, including 18 of those scored during the second half.

Nicolas Kuhns paced Fayetteville Tech with 20 points, while teammate Jabari Bowman added 18 points.

The CVCC men's basketball team is back in action on Tuesday with a road conference game at Vance-Granville Community College in Hendersonville, N.C. Game time is set for 7 p.m.