MUNCIE, IND.?The Presbyterian College men's basketball team fought from behind to trail by only two in the last minute after being down the entire second half to give Ball State a scare on Sunday afternoon at Worthen Arena in Muncie, Ind.
PC (5-6) was down 57-59 with 22 seconds left and forced a Ball State turnover, but the Blue Hose couldn't convert the ensuing possession and the Cardinals escaped with the 60-57 victory.
Josh Johnson (Hendersonville, Tenn./Hendersonville) led PC with 15 points and seven rebounds, and Pierre Miller (Warner Robbins, Ga./Warner Robbins) had 12 points, including three three pointers. The Blue Hose shot 44.2% from the field to Ball State's 44%, but were out-rebounded 25-60 in the contest. Sophomore Al'Lonzo Coleman (Charlotte, N.C./Vance) chipped in eight points and played only 20 minutes after finding himself in foul trouble early in the game.
Ball State jumped out to a six point lead in the first three minutes of the first half, but PC answered with a four point run on its own to bring the score to 4-6 at 15:44. The Blue Hose then were held scoreless for almost four minutes before Miller's first three pointer of the game at 12:25 cut Ball State's lead to eight points at 6-14.
Both teams traded baskets before the Blue Hose went on a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to two points at 10:11, and Miller's three pointer with 9:28 left in the half gave PC its first lead of the game at 15-14.
With the score tied at 20 with just under five minutes left in the half off of a jumper by Travis Sligh (Columbia, S.C./Keenan), PC couldn't stop Ball State as they scored five straight points to go up 25-20 with 3:37 left in the first half. A jumper by Chase Holmes (Spartanburg, S.C./Chesnee) at the 2:37 mark cut the Cardinals lead to four points, but Ball State answered with a 6-1 run to extend their lead to nine points with just under a minute remaining.
Miller's three pointer with 37 seconds to go made the score 28-34 in favor of the Cardinals. With five seconds left in the first half Ball State's Anthony Newell layed one in to give the Cardinals an eight point lead heading into the locker rooms.
To start the second half PC went on a 8-2 run, capped by a tip-in from Aaron Gibbs (Charlotte, N.C./Myers Park), to cut Ball State's lead to only two points. The Cardinals went up by eight points at 11:43, but the second three pointer in a row from Holmes and a quick layup by Sligh again put the Blue Hose within three at 10:31.
Both teams traded baskets until Ball State again took control, leading by as many as 11 points with five minutes left in the game. PC battled back, however, and used back-to-back free throws from Gibbs and a pair of three pointers from Johnson to go on a 8-0 run and trail by only three points with just under a minute remaining.
Ball State's Brandon Lampley hit the front end of a one-and-one to give the Cardinals a four point lead, but Kevin Davis (Charlotte, N.C./Ardrey Kell) took the ball the length of the court and sank a layup to bring the score to 59-57 with 24 seconds left.
PC forced a Ball State turnover on the inbound pass, but couldn't score on the possession and was forced to foul, sending Randy Davis to the line for the Cardinals with five seconds on the clock. Davis sank one of his two free throws, but it was all Ball State would need to hang on for the win as the Cardinals escaped with the 60-57 victory.
Ball State moves to 5-5 on the year with the win, and was lead by Anthony Newell's 20 points. Randy Davis chipped in 11 points while Malik Perry pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds for the Cardinals.
The Blue Hose return to action on Tuesday, Dec. 23 when they travel to Columbia, S.C. to face the Gamecocks of USC. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and is PC's last game before a short break for the holidays.
