Braves Basketball Teams Face Catawba in NCAA Tourney

The stakes are high as both the men’s and women’s basketball teams from UNC Pembroke get set to take on familiar foe Catawba in the opening rounds of the NCAA Division II Tournament.

The UNCP men’s squad, seeded 5th in the Southeast Region, rides momentum from winning the Conference Carolinas tournament title into their third straight NCAA appearance. Coach Drew Richards hopes that championship run has his team primed to hit the ground running against the 4th-seeded Catawba Indians.

“Getting that experience against a really good Emmanuel team in the conference tourney should have us more prepared this time around,” Richards said about facing NCAA Tournament-caliber competition.

Catawba’s versatile attack will test the Braves in multiple areas. Richards sees shades of different Conference Carolinas foes in the Indians - an offense reminiscent of Francis Marion, a tenacious defense akin to Barton, and offensive rebounding prowess like King University.

Ball security will be critical for UNCP against Catawba’s aggressive, turnover-forcing defense. The veteran backcourt battle between the Braves and Indians led by UNCP’s senior trio of Jamaal Somerville, Ujiah Ellison, and Saban Campell and Catawba’s Javeon Jones, DeAngelo Epps, and Kris Robinson could decide the outcome.

“We’ve got a great backcourt, so it’s going to be a battle back and forth between those two,” Richards noted.

On the women’s side, the 8th-seeded Lady Braves are plenty familiar with top-seeded host Catawba after last year’s first-round tourney exit and a non-conference meeting earlier this season.

UNCP coach John Haskins, in his final season patrolling the sidelines, knows limiting turnovers and getting offense from his squad will be crucial against the nation’s 25th-ranked team.

“We’ve got to play with poise, take care of the basketball, and then we’ve got to compete on the glass,” Haskins said.

The do-it-all Lyrik Thorne leads Catawba’s potent attack as the Southeast Region Player of the Year. But containing the senior guard alone won’t be enough - forwards Janiya Downs and Sara McIntosh provide an imposing interior presence.

Both programs face a simple equation - extend their seasons with opening round wins or have their journeys come to an unceremonious end. Having already conquered the conference tournament gauntlet should steel the Braves for the win-or-go-home intensity awaiting in the Big Dance.

All eyes will be on the hardwood battles between the crosstown rivals from Pembroke and Salisbury. The Southeast Regional stage is set for the next installments of this budding basketball rivalry.