NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Despite the return of redshirt-juniors Al'Lonzo Coleman,
Josh Johnson and Pierre Miller, the Presbyterian College men's basketball team
was unable to defeat Southeastern Conference foe Vanderbilt Friday evening in
the season opener for both teams, falling 88-47.
The Blue Hose (0-1) were led by Coleman, a preseason all-conference selection.
Coleman, who redshirted a season ago, poured in a team-high 17 points on
eight-of-15 shooting from the floor. He also pulled down a squad-best six
boards and for good measure, recorded three thefts. Johnson also reached double
figures, netting 11 in the loss.
Collectively, PC hit 17-of-53 shots (32.1 percent) from the floor, including
four-of-14 from behind the three-point line (28.6 percent). The charity stripe
worked well for the Blue Hose, who sank all seven attempts.
Trailing 5-0 just 1:30 into the contest, Coleman got things going for the
visitors with a lay-up, cutting the deficit to three. Coleman connected on two
more buckets over the following 80 seconds, putting the score at 10-6 in favor
of Vanderbilt.
With the margin at 10, Miller drained a deep three-point shot to slice the
deficit to seven, 16-9. The Commodores came back with a three of their own
before Coleman hit a short jumper to make it 19-11.
Vanderbilt pushed the margin to 13 on multiple occasions, but Johnson hit a
three ball, cutting the score to 10 with 7:08 to go in the opening half. PC did
a solid job of keeping the score within striking distance in the first half.
After a Khalid Mutakabbir miss, Coleman corralled the rebound and put it back
up with 4:55 to play, making the score 30-20.
The teams traded buckets the next two trips down the court, with PC's two
coming from an inside shot by Johnson. However, PC missed its next four shots
while the Commodores went on a 10-0 run in a two-minute span for the 42-22
halftime lead.
Despite trailing at the break, PC had more points off turnovers and
second-chance points than the home squad.
The 10-0 run that ended the first stanza was repeated by Vanderbilt to start
the second as the score was 54-24 with 16:31 to play.
Miller ended the drought with a short runner with just under 16 minutes
remaining. Coleman's three-ball concluded a 7-2 run by head coach Gregg Nibert's
team over a 2:26 span. It helped trim the score from a 30-point deficit to 25
points, but PC could get no closer the rest of the way.
The Blue Hose return to action Nov. 18 when they travel to Manhattan, Kan., to
take on No. 3 Kansas State. It marks the first of four games that PC will play
in the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic.
