SAN JOSE, Calif. ? Pat Kiscaden finished with a game-high 18 points in Presbyterian College's tough 68-64 loss to San Jose State on Saturday evening at the Event Center.
PC drops to 1-14 on the year with the loss, while San Jose State pulled to within one game of .500 at 4-5 with the victory over the Blue Hose.
PC trailed by as many as 17 in the game and went into halftime down by 12 to the Spartans.
PC opened the second half on a 6-0 run and eventually outscored the Spartans 28-16 over the course of the first 15 minutes of the second half to square the game at 54-54 after Pierre Miller (Warner-Robbins, Ga.) took advantage of a San Jose State turnover and hit a lay-up with 5:24 left in the game.
In a game that the Blue Hose never led that would be as close as PC would be able to get as the Spartans pulled away in the final minutes for the 68-64 victory.
After being charged prior to the game by the coaching staff to really improve their free throw shooting the Blue Hose responded against the Spartans
In fact, PC pulled its way back into the game due to its prowess at the free throw line as the Blue Hose ended their evening 12-for-13 (92.3 percent) from the charity stripe. Kiscaden led the way from the free throw line for PC, hitting seven of his eight free throw attempts in the contest.
Kiscaden eventually concluded the game with three three-pointers and one shot from inside the arc to acquire the game-high 18 points.
In a depleted Blue Hose roster that was limited to nine players against San Jose State due to injuries, Al'Lonzo Coleman (Charlotte, N.C.) more than held his own against a trio of taller San Jose State players, ending the game with 13 points, four rebounds and four steals.
Miller, who had to play the entire 40 minutes at point guard due to the injuries, finished with five assists, two steals and two rebounds.
San Jose State had four players finish in double figures. Chris Oakes and Justin Graham both had 13 for the Spartans, while DaShawn Wright and DeVonte Thomas concluded their efforts in the win with 11 points.
Wright had eight rebounds in the game for San Jose State to tie teammate C.J. Webster for the game-high in the category.
In total, PC finished the contest shooting 40.7 percent from the field, while San Jose State ended the game 53.3 percent from the field. Neither team shot the ball well from beyond the arc as PC shot 36.4 percent in the game from three-point range, while the Spartans finished shooting 33.3 percent from beyond the arc.
The Blue Hose will next fly back to Clinton and then break for Christmas before heading to Cullowhee, N.C. for a game at the Ramsey Center with the Western Carolina Catamounts at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 27.
