CLINTON, S.C. - Presbyterian
College men's basketball made a pair of buzzer-beating three-pointers, but the
heroic shots weren't enough as UNC Asheville topped PC, 69-66 on Tuesday
night. The Blue Hose fall to 4-23 and
2-13 in the Big South while Asheville improves to 13-14 on the year and 10-6 in
the league.
During the game, PC's head coach Gregg Nibert worked the
game barefoot as a part of the Big South's Barefoot
for Bare Feet Program which raises money and shoes for Samaritan's Feet.
The Blue Hose trailed by five at the halftime break thanks
to a miraculous three-pointer at the buzzer from Chase Holmes. He stroked the long ball for his 12th
point of the night from well beyond NBA range.
Holmes would go on to lead PC with 20 points in the game.
The buzzer-beater was part of a 13-3 run that erased a 29-20
margin with 31 seconds left in the opening period and put the team's back on
level terms at 32 with 16:15 remaining in the game.
The teams remained close throughout the second half with
four points being the maximum advantage.
A breakaway layup from Chase Holmes gave the Blue Hose a one
point lead with 50 seconds remaining.
The Bulldogs answered with 20 seconds remaining to bring the teams back
level. The Blue Hose brought the ball
back down the court and the potential winning shot was dished to
Muttakabir. His three-point effort from
the corner was off the mark, forcing the teams into overtime.
Holmes gave the Blue Hose a 56-54 lead at the 4:46 mark with
an emphatic dunk that brought the Blue Hose faithful to their feet. The Bulldogs answered at 3:32 with a
three-pointer to put UNCA back up by one.
A fifteen-footer from Jake Troyli put PC up by one but an old-fashioned
three-point play gave UNCA a 60-58 lead with two minutes left. Troyli had 14 points while playing the final
14 minutes with four fouls.
Travis Smith lifted the Blue Hose back on top with a three-point
play of his own. The teams exchanged
two-point trips down the floor before J.P. Primm drained a trey to put UNCA up,
65-63. Troyli went to the line for a
one-and-one with 40 seconds left but missed the try. At the other end, UNCA drained a pair of free
throws to go up 67-63. A PC missed
jumper, combined with two more free throws cemented the outcome.
Walt Allen drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to make the
final line, 69-66. Allen's basket came
from 25-plus feet to close out the evening.
Allen had 11 points on the evening along with 11 rebounds for his second
career double-double.
The Blue Hose will now venture out of the league to
participate in the ESPN Bracketbusters Weekend with a game at Jacksonville
State. The game starts at 7 p.m. (CT), 8
p.m. (ET).
