Game Notes
SALISBURY, NC – The Livingstone men's basketball team will kick off its 2010-2011 campaign this weekend in the Highway 52 Tournament hosted at Catawba College.
The Highway 52 Tournament is in its second year and includes Livingstone, Catawba, Pfeiffer and a fourth team selected by the host institution, this year Urbana.
Livingstone will open Saturday night at 9:30 p.m. against the Pfeiffer University Falcons and will play the Catawba College Indians Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
Livingstone finished last season with a 12-16 overall record, 8-12 in the conference and 3-7 in the division. The Blue Bears pulled out an opening-round win over Virginia State in the CIAA Tournament before falling to St. Augustine's in the quarterfinals.
The Blue Bears are returning five players from last season including two consistent scoring threats in Greg Henry and Donte Durant. Henry tied for the team lead in scoring last season, averaging 12.9 points per game and also grabbing 7.1 rebounds per contest. Durant added 7.6 points per game and 2.3 rebounds per game in 2009-2010.
Last season the Blue Bears were in the middle of the pack in the CIAA in both scoring offense and scoring defense. Livingstone scored an average of 69.7 points per game while allowing 71.2 points per game last year.
PFEIFFER UNIVERSITY
Livingstone's first opponent, Pfeiffer, is returning its top scorer from a year ago in Chris Woods who averaged 22.4 points per game. Woods was also second on the team in rebounds, averaging 7.3 boards per contest. Jeff Pettiway, the team's second-leading scorer has also returned for the Falcons, brining his 18.3 points per game from last year. In 2009-2010 Pfeiffer not only was able to put a large number on the scoreboard, but also allowed a good many points as well. The Falcons scored an average of 103 points per game last year while allowing 92.7 points per contest.
Pfeiffer finished last season with a 13-7 overall record and a 5-2 conference mark. The Falcons defeated the Blue Bears in the consolation game of last year's tournament 99-87. The two teams will also meet at Pfeiffer this season on December 14.
CATAWBA COLLEGE
The second opponent for Livingstone will be the Catawba Indians. Catawba had three players average more than 15 points a game last season and all of them are returning for the Indians. Antonio Houston (16.2 PPG), Rob Fields (15.3 PPG) and Donald Rutherford (15.2 PPG) are all returning for their senior seasons. Rutherford was also the leading rebounder for Catawba last year, pulling down seven boards per game.
Catawba scored an average of 81.2 points per game in 2009-2010 while allowing 77.3 points per game. The Blue Bears and Indians tangled in last year's tournament as well with Catawba pulling out a come-from-behind victory 82-78. Livingstone led by as much as 15 in the second half, but Catawba fought back to take the victory.
GAME UPDATES
Fans can follow live updates via Twitter at www.twitter.com/lcbluebears and also via live stats through Catawba at http://gocatawbaindians.athleticsite.net/livestats/mb/xlive.htm.
UPCOMING CONTESTS
After the Highway 52 Tournament the Blue Bears will be away from competition until December 2 when they open their home schedule against Morris College at 6:30 p.m.
GAME RECAPS
A full game recap with statistics will be available online at www.bluebearathletics.com following the contest.
