CLINTON, S.C. ? Presbyterian College men's basketball won its second home game of the year and stretched its streak to fourteen consecutive regular season wins at the Templeton Center on Wednesday evening with an 82-69 win over UC Davis.
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The Blue Hose had two players score over 20 points for the first time this season, with Al'Lonzo Coleman (Charlotte, N.C./Vance) contributing 29 points and Josh Johnson (Hendersonville, Tenn./Hendersonville) chipping in 22 points. ?Chase Holmes (Spartanburg, S.C./Chesnee) set a new personal scoring record with 18 points, while Coleman's 29 points also bested his personal record. PC ended the game shooting 52.8 percent from the field and 84 percent from behind the free throw line, and the Blue Hose advance to an even 5-5 on the year with the victory.?
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UC-Davis (4-7) jumped out to an early 8-4 lead, forcing PC to call a timeout. The Blue Hose emerged from the break and sophomore guard Pierre Miller (Warner Robbins, Ga./Warner Robbins)? sidestepped a defender to sink a jumper, pulling PC within two points. Coleman made two consecutive layups and rookie Holmes added two points to give PC a four-point lead with 12:44 remaining in the first half.
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Both teams hit a dry spell for almost three minutes, which Holmes ended with a basket from just inside the arc with exactly five minutes to go in the half. UC-Davis went on a 7-0 scoring run over the next two and half minutes. Holmes quieted the Aggies with back-to-back treys to pull the Blue Hose within five.
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Sophomore guard Johnson netted a pair of free throws to tie the game, and then grabbed a rebound off a UC-Davis miss to give PC the final possession of the half. The Aggies fouled Coleman, who banked both shots to give the Blue Hose a 31-29 advantage at halftime. ?
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Coming out of halftime the Blue Hose stretched their lead to four after a quick basket by Travis Sligh (Columbia, S.C./Keenan) to go up 33-29 at the 19:42 mark.? After trading baskets in the next three minutes, UC Davis took its only lead of the half at 16:33 on a layup by Vince Oliver.? Leading 37-36, UC Davis couldn't hang on to the advantage and PC regained the lead on a basket by Coleman.? ?
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PC would stay on top for the rest of the game, going up by as many as 13 points with eight minutes left in the game.? The Aggies could cut the deficit to four points after a three pointer by Ryan Silva, but the Blue Hose answered with a layup from Aaron Gibbs (Charlotte, N.C./Myers Park)) to put PC ahead 64-58.
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The Blue Hose would extend their lead to as many as 16 points in the last two minutes, and back-to-back trips to the free throw line in the waning seconds would clinch the 82-69 victory.?
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PC takes to the road again for three straight road games, starting with a trip?to Ball State on Dec. 21.? The Blue Hose tip-off at 1 p.m. in Muncie, Ind.?
