CLINTON, S.C. - Presbyterian College connected on four straight free throws in the final :12 seconds to hold off the Catawba College Indians en route to a 75-69 victory in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action Saturday afternoon at the Ross E. Templeton Center. With the win, the Blue Hose improve to 15-6 overall (5-2 SAC) and Catawba falls to 17-5 (5-2 SAC) on the season.
The first half was closely contested with three lead changes and two ties. PC used an 8-2 run to pull ahead 17-11 on a jumper by senior Tray Ballenger (Wellford, S.C.) at the 10:51 mark. The Indians trimmed the lead to only a basket on two occasions over the next four minutes, but could not regain the lead. The Blue Hose pushed the lead to its largest margin of the half at seven points on three occasions, the last coming on a pair of free throws by sophomore Drew Biggs (Alpharetta, Ga.) with :25 seconds remaining. PC took a 33-26 lead into halftime.
PC's freshman Bryan Bostic (Norcross, Ga.) led all scorers with nine first half points, while senior Helgi Magnusson (Reykajavik, Iceland) led the Indians with eight points.
The second half opened with the Blue Hose pushing the lead to double figures at 40-30 on a pair of free throws by freshman Travis Sligh (Columbia, S.C.) at the 16:13 mark. The Indians responded with the 10-4 run capped off by a three-pointer from junior Brian Graves (Newport News, Va.) to trim the lead to 44-40 with 11:57 remaining. The Blue Hose battled back and extended lead back to double figures at 56-45 on a layup from redshirt sophomore Martynas Versinskas (Kaunas, Lithuania) with 6:31 left in the game.
Catawba would answer the PC run by cutting the lead back to single digits in the final three minutes. The Indians would pull to within just one point at 67-66 with :37 seconds remaining when sophomore Jamel Hamilton's (Virginia Beach, Va.) layup. The Blue Hose would hit six-of-eight free throws in the final :30 seconds including Ballenger and Dixon each hitting a pair of charity shots in the final :12 seconds to seal the victory.
Versinskas led the Blue Hose with 14 points and six boards coming off the bench, while senior Johann Collins (Raleigh, N.C.) chipped in 13 points and four boards. Bostic added 11 points, three assists and Biggs rounded out PC's double figure scorers with 10 points on seven-of-eight shooting from the line.
Catawba was led by Magnusson's game-high 16 points to go along with four boards, while Graves chipped in 13 points and four assists. Hamilton came off the bench to add 11 points and three boards for the Indians.
