CONWAY, S.C. - After holding a
second-half lead, the Presbyterian College men's basketball team fell by a 76-72
score Monday evening against Big South Conference leading Coastal Carolina.
The Blue Hose now stand at 2-14 on the year and 0-4 against conference teams.
The Chanticleers improve to 14-2 on the year and remain unbeaten in Big South play.
Four student-athletes scored in double figures for PC, which is the youngest in
Division I. Sophomore Chase Holmes led the way with a team-best 15 points. Zach
Faircloth and Jake Troyli each chipped in 12 while Khalid Mutakabbir added 11 points and 10 rebounds
in the loss. It marked the first double-double of Mutakabbir's career - and just the second by a PC student-athlete this season.
In the opening stanza, PC jumped out to a 22-16 lead thanks in part to eight
early points by Holmes and six by Troyli. During that stretch, six of the
points scored by the Blue Hose came via the long shot as Travis Smith and Zach
Faircloth each buried a three-point attempt.
However, afterHolmes' bucket gave the visitors their 22nd point, PC
went cold from the floor, hitting just one shot over the next five minutes. The
lone bucket was a three-point shot from Faircloth, which gave the Blue Hose a
27-24 edge.
After a three-pointer by Danny Nieman tied the score, Holmes slicing lay-up off
the pass from Kevin Davis gave the Blue Hose a 29-27 lead with 3:20 to play.
Missed field goals and turnovers hampered PC down the stretch while the
Chanticleers tallied six of the final eight points of the period for a 33-31
lead. Down four with 35 seconds to play, Khalid Mutakabbir found an opening and
made a short runner down the right side of the lane to cut the deficit to just
two at the break.
In the first half, PC connected on 14-of-28 shots from the floor. The biggest
difference in the first half came off second-chance points. Coastal Carolina
recorded 21 rebounds, nine of which were on the offensive glass, resutling in
13 second-chance points while holding the Blue Hose scoreless on second-chance
opportunities.
PC came out, scoring the first four points in the second half with a pair of jumpers
by Troyli and Smith for a 35-33 lead. Coastal Carolina then scored 16 of the
next 21 points for a 49-40 advantage. The Blue Hose would fight back, though.
Faircloth and Ryan Hargrave each made a shot from downtown as head coach Gregg
Nibert's team would pull within four, 54-50, but it was as close as the
visitors would be the rest of the night.
After Hargrave's shot, the Blue Hose would not make a basket for nearly six
minutes while the Chanticleers went on an 8-0 run during that time for a
12-point lead.
For the game, PC connected on 44.8 percent of its shots while the Chanticleers
hit 54.5 percent of their attempts. The Blue Hose were out-rebounded 36-28.
The Blue Hose return to action Thursday evening when they host Liberty in a 7
p.m., contest.
