CLINTON, S.C. -- Presbyterian College's freshman guard Bryan Bostic (Norcross, Ga.) came off the bench to tie a career-high with 15 points to lead the Blue Hose to a 62-55 victory over the Warriors of Southern Wesleyan University Monday night in men's basketball action at the Ross E. Templeton Center.
The Blue Hose (7-1), off to their best start since the 1992-93 season, had to hold off a late Warrior comeback down the stretch to seal the victory. Southern Wesleyan drops to 4-2 on the season and have now lost two straight.
The game saw five ties in the first half until the Blue Hose went on a 7-0 run to pull ahead 27-20 at the 1:42 mark on a layup by Bostic. The Warriors responded by outscoring PC 5-2 in the closing minutes to trail 29-25 at intermission.
Southern Wesleyan was led in the first half by junior guard Darryl Edwards (Baltimore, MD) who tallied seven points and five boards on three-of-eight shooting from the field. The Blue Hose in the were led in the first session by Bostic's nine points on four-of-11 shooting from the field. Neither team was able to shoot the ball very well in the first half with PC shooting 33.3% while the Warriors shot 35.7%.
In the second half, the Blue Hose led by as many as 11 points on two occasions, the second coming at 57-46 with 3:23 remaining on a jumper by senior center Johann Collins (Raleigh, N.C.). The Warriors responded with a 9-1 run over the next two minutes highlighted by a pair of three pointers from senior guard Jerans Rapley (Abbeville, S.C.) and Edwards to trim the lead to 58-55 with 1:06 remaining.
The Blue Hose iced the game on free throws from senior guard Tray Ballenger (Wellford, S.C.) and junior forward Grant Herren (Oviedo, Fla.) and a dunk by Collins in the closing seconds.
Joining Bostic for Blue Hose scoring honors was Ballenger, the reigning SAC Player of the Week, who tallied nine points and 10 boards. Collins chipped in eight points and 10 boards for PC.
Southern Wesleyan was led by Ewards' 18 points off the bench and Rapley's 15 points on four-of-nine shooting from beyond the arc. Sophomore center Brandon Callihan (Liberty, S.C.) added 10 points and eight boards.
