CLINTON, S.C. - The Presbyterian College men's basketball team was unable to hold on to a nine-point halftime lead against defending Big South Conference champion Radford Saturday evening, falling 61-57 at the Templeton Center.

The Blue Hose (2-7, 0-2) were led by Chase Holmes' 18 points and career-high nine rebounds. The Highlanders (4-2, 2-0) were guided by Art Parakhouski and Lazar Trifunovic's 13 points each.

Redshirt-freshman Jake Troyli netted 10 points, reaching double figures for the ninth time in his young career. Khalid Mutakabbir added nine while Travis Smith tallied eight.

The aggressive defensive team tallied 12 steals, five of which came from the quick hands of Holmes.

PC stretched its halftime lead of nine back to 11 with 18:05 to go in the game off a lay-up by Mutakabbir, but the visitors slowly sliced into the lead until there was 10:41 to go in the game. Trifunovic's charity toss knotted the contest at 47 apiece.

Trifunovic's bucket two minutes later gave the Highlanders a 49-47 advantage, but Troyli answered with an easy lay-up with 7:48 to go. Evan Faulkner then buried a three-point shot, sparking a 7-0 run by the visitors.

PC did not score for nearly five minutes, which allowed Radford to build a lead it would not relinquish.

Three times the Blue Hose cut the lead to three, but they could get no closer as Amir Johnson's free throw gave Radford a four-point edge with one second to play.

The Blue Hose raced out to a six-point advantage at 10-4 on Travis Smith's three-point shot with 16:47 to play off a pass from Holmes. Although the lead dwindled to two points at 13-11, the young PC team staved off the Highlanders in the early going.

Up 24-18 with 8:43 to go, head coach Gregg Nibert's team embarked on a 10-2 run over a span of 5:02 for a 34-20 lead with 3:41 to play before the intermission. During the run, Holmes sliced his way through the defense for a bucket. After a quick score by the Highlanders, Troyli drilled a mid-range jumper, pushing the advantage to eight.

Ryan Hargrave then cut through the defense and passed the ball back outside to a wide open Walt Allen, who netted the three-point shot. PC dialed it up again on the next possession. After Hargrave grabbed a defensive rebound, he got the ball to Smith, who drove into the lane and passed it back to Hargrave. From 22 feet out, Hargrave buried the jumper for the 14-point lead.

Radford went on a 7-0 run over the next 2:25, but Troyli squared up and hit a 15-foot shot from the wing with five seconds remaining in the first stanza for the 36-27 halftime margin.

In the first period, PC drained 14-of-28 shots for 50 percent from the floor. The squad also connected on six-of-12 from behind the arc while limiting Radford to 10-of-34 shooting from the floor for 29.4 percent.  

The Blue Hose will have a few days off for exams before traveling to Chapel Hill, N.C. to take on nationally ranked North Carolina Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m.