HICKORY, N.C. - Second-seeded Presbyterian College placed four players in double figures to advance to Sunday's Food Lion South Atlantic Conference championship game with a 67-62 victory over the sixth-seeded Pioneers of Tusculum College. Presbyterian improves to 24-8 overall and will face fourth-seeded Wingate University, who won in the earlier semifinal today at 2:00 pm in the finals. Tusculum concludes its season at 14-15.
The Blue Hose broke open a closely contested first half with a 18-6 run to take a 33-21 advantage into halftime. PC hit six-of-10 three-point field goals in the first stanza and were led by junior Sean Dixon's (Marietta, Ga.) 13 points on three-of-three shooting from beyond the arc. Junior Matt Farus (Zanesville, Ohio) paced the Pioneers with six points in the first half.
The Pioneers stormed back in the second half with 19 straight points, six of those from sophomore Gabe Story (Greeneville, Tenn.) off two three-point plays, to close to 54-51 with six minutes left.
Presbyterian overcame the six-minute scoring drought by pouring in 13 points in the final six minutes, including five in the final 28 seconds, to pull away for the final margin. Dixon converted all six of his free throws during the crucial stretch as the Blue Hose hit all 11 free throw attempts in the second half. Tusculum was equal to the task, hitting all 10 of their second half free throw attempts.
Dixon led all scorers with 19 points, while junior Grant Herren (Oviedo, Fla.) and sophomore Pat Kiscaden (Oviedo, Fla.) each tallied 12 points. Herren added five boards, while Kiscaden went four-of-seven from three-point land. Senior All-SAC selection, Tray Ballenger (Wellford, S.C.), added 10 points for the Blue Hose.
Tusculum was led in scoring on the night by sophomore Jordan Lear's (Zanesville, Ohio) who tallied a team-high 16 points, while senior Donald Sexton (Oneida, Tenn.) added 13 points and five boards. Junior Chris Poore (Greeneville, Tenn.) chipped in 12 points for the Pioneers.
Quotes:
Presbyterian Coach Gregg Nibert: "We came out early ready to play. We had an excellent first half and got a 20-point lead. You expect every good team to make a run, we just didn't expect them to make that big of a run."
(On playing Wingate in the championship game) "They are an athletic and quick team. Everyone thinks of them just as a scoring team, but their field goal percentage defense leads the league, so they are a good defensive team, too. That's what makes them a better basketball team."
Tusculum Coach Jim Boone: "I'm really pleased with the tremendous effort our kids gave to come back from a 20-point game and give ourselves a chance to win. But what our kids have to realize is that in tournament play, every single possession counts. Presbyterian stepped up and played like you do when you are a championship team. They were the better team tonight and deserved to win."
