Red Hawks weather sixth-ranked Storm for 93-91 OT win

Red Hawks weather sixth-ranked Storm for 93-91 OT win

HICKORY, N.C. — The Catawba Valley Community College men's basketball team earned its biggest victory against a ranked opponent on Monday night, knocking off No. 6 Davidson County 93-91 in overtime at the Tarlton Complex.

Jonathan McFall scored a career-high 31 points for CVCC (11-6, 6-4 in Region 10) — becoming only the sixth Red Hawk men's basketball player to record a game with 30 or more points scored.

Both teams battled foul trouble during Monday's contest, which included a combined 67 fouls, including 38 on CVCC and 29 on Davidson County. Six players fouled out of the game, including four CVCC athletes and two Davidson County athletes.

Leading by as many as 13 points in the first half, the Storm (13-1, 7-1 in Region 10) powered ahead to a 39-34 halftime lead in Monday's conference game against the Red Hawks.

Working its way back from the double-digit deficit, Catawba Valley took its first lead of the game, going ahead 43-42 on a 3-pointer by Zach De La Cruz with 16:54 remaining.

CVCC would build a nine-point lead with 4:04 left in the second half, but Davidson County rallied and eventually tied the contest at 78-78 on a lay up by Cam Robinson with just 3.3 seconds left in regulation, sending the game into overtime.

In the extra session, it was a pair of 3-pointers by McFall and De La Cruz that helped push CVCC into a comfortable lead against DCCC, and the Red Hawks made 5-of-10 free throw attempts to hold on for the two-point Region 10 victory.

De La Cruz finished Monday's game with 12 points — five of those coming in overtime. Cam Walden (11 points) and Jaylen Prioleau (10 points) also reached double figures in scoring for the Red Hawks.

The CVCC men's basketball team will try to continue its momentum from Monday's big win when it returns to the court on Saturday on the road against Southwest Virginia Community College.

Tip off between the Red Hawks and Eagles is set for 3 p.m. in Richlands, Va.