CLINTON, S.C. - The Presbyterian College men's basketball team suffered a 56-42 setback Saturday evening against Winthrop in a Big South Conference contest.

The Blue Hose now stand at 3-16 on the season and 1-6 in Big South Conference play. The Eagles improve to 8-9 overall and 4-3 against conference competition.

Leading the way for PC was Jake Troyli, who tallied a team-best 13 points while Chase Holmes chipped in 10.

Walt Allen and Ryan Hargrave each accounted for a team-best six rebounds.

PC, coming off one of its biggest wins since moving to Division I, struggled coming out of the gate against the Eagles. Down 9-2 just 3:23 into the contest, the Blue Hose were able to pull within five just four minutes later on Hargrave's short jumper in the lane, making the score 11-6. It marked the closest that head coach Gregg Nibert's team would come in the half.

After a quick 4-0 run by the visitors, Travis Smith's three-ball closed the gap to six twice, but the Eagles widened the margin to 13 to end the half, 34-21. In the opening stanza, the team hit just six-of-20 for 30 percent from the floor. PC was able to get to the line 12 times, knocking down eight attempts in the first 20 minutes of play.

The Blue Hose made some excellent halftime adjustments, enabling the home squad to go on an 8-0 spurt to start the second period. Troyli drilled a jumper just outside the lane to get things started. On the next possession, he did the same thing - and had the same result.

Holmes then corralled a rebound and went coast to coast, slicing and turning his way through all five Eagles' players before making a twisting lay-up to put the score at 34-27. Two possessions later, Holmes stole the ball and hit Khalid Mutakabbir for an easy bucket, drawing the team within five.

However, Winthrop responded with a 13-3 run of its own over the next six minutes, taking a 47-32 lead with just over 10 minutes to play.

The Blue Hose never managed to slice the opposition's lead to single digits the rest of the way. The closest the squad could come was with 3:23 remaining. Troyli went up for a three-point shot and was fouled, sending him to the line. He calmly sank all three attempts, making the score 54-42. The Eagles scored just two more points over the final minutes, finishing the scoring in the game.

PC connected on 12-of-49 attempts for the game for 24.5 percent, including just one made three-point shot in 14 attempts from behind the arc. The Eagles canned 39 percent of their shots for the game. Similar to the home team, Winthrop made just two three-point shots in nine tries.

Winthrop outscored PC 34-16 in the paint and 15-4 in second-chance points.

The Blue Hose return to action Thursday when they make the short trek to Boiling Springs, N.C., to face Gardner-Webb at 7 p.m.