HICKORY, N.C. — Sophomores Byron Sanders, Sal-Bey Young and Jonathan McFall combined for 48 points, leading the Catawba Valley Community College men's basketball team to a 84-72 victory against Central Carolina on Friday night during day one of the CVCC Classic at the Tarlton Complex.

Sanders scored a career-high 17 points and added seven rebounds and six assists in the fourth-straight win for the Red Hawks, who improve to 7-4 overall on the season.

Young and McFall also both came up one rebound short of recording a double double in the contest. Young finished Friday's game with 16 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and three steals, while McFall recorded 15 points and nine rebounds.

Capitalizing on a solid rebounding effort that included nine offensive boards in the first half, CVCC took a 37-31 halftime lead paced by 10 points and three rebounds from Sanders.

Catawba Valley led by as many as 17 points in Friday's contest, but the Cougars (6-8) cut the lead to just 71-65 with 3:52 to go in the contest before the Red Hawks re-expanded their lead and made free throws down the stretch in the 12-point victory.

The CVCC men's basketball team finishes play at its host Classic on Saturday with a 3 p.m. contest against Johnston Community College at the Tarlton Complex.

The Jaguars fell 90-69 to Caldwell Tech during the first game of the CVCC Classic on Friday.

Caldwell Tech and Central Carolina open the final day of competition at the CVCC Classic with a 1 p.m. game. All games are free to attend.