CLINTON, S.C. -Presbyterian College returned home for a historic night on Thursday to take a 78-44 win over Gardner-Webb at the Templeton Center.  1,921 fans saw redshirt-junior Al'Lonzo Coleman (Charlotte, N.C.) soar through the 1,000 career points barrier, redshirt-junior Josh Johnson (Hendersonville, Tenn.) drop a season high 22 points and PC introduce its new mascot, "Scotty the Scotsman." 

PC reached .500 on the season improving to 8-8 on the year and 2-2 in Big South play.  Gardner-Webb fell to 6-11 on the year and 1-4 in the Big South with the loss.

"I'm incredibly proud of our team playing so well coming off that great win up at Navy," said head coach Greg Nibert.  "We had a great defensive night but there was one little lull in the second half where they scored and that's something we're going to have to work on.  It was great for Al'Lonzo (Coleman) to reach 1,000 points tonight."

Johnson's season high scoring came in 25 minutes of play as he shot 6-for-7 from beyond the arc.  Coleman's milestone night came off 16 points scoring.  He needed 12 points to reach the 1,000 point plateau and he crossed it with ease.  Also posting a double-digit scoring night was sophomore Khalid Mutakabbir (Suwanee, Ga.) with 15 points while sophomore Jake Troyli (Largo, Fla.) posted 11 points.

Coleman missed his fifth double-double by one rebound as he finished the night with nine boards.  On his night he was 3-of-6 from the field and 10-for-11 from the free throw line. 

The Blue Hose logged just nine turnovers in the game and out-rebounded Gardner-Webb by a 40-25 clip.

PC took early control of the game as Johnson dropped six points in the opening eight minutes to lead PC to an early 14-4 lead at the 12:04 mark in the first half.

GWU made a three-pointer three-possessions later to cut the lead to 14-7 at 10:53.  The seven-point margin would be as close as Gardner-Webb would get for the rest of the night. 

PC stretched the lead to 18-points at 5:17 with a three-pointer by Johnson but it was the Blue Hose that initiated a 13-4 over the final minutes of the first half to take a 41-16 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Johnson reached the 20-point mark at 15:39 with a three-point basket to give PC a 53-25 lead.

The Bulldogs would whittle away at the lead eventually cutting the advantage to 21 points twice at 13:20 and 11:49 remaining in the game.

Coleman reached a historic milestone at 11:25 as the redshirt-junior scored his 1,000^th career point.  He became the 20^th Blue Hose player to accomplish the feat under head coach Greg Nibert.  He is also the first to reach the grand haul entirely in the Division I era.  He scored the basket on a layup that drew a foul.  He quickly scored his 1,001^st point and 13^th of the night from the charity stripe.

"Its great to reach 1,000 career points but all the credit goes to God," said Coleman.  "I also want to thank my teammates for helping me."

PC cooled from the field in the second half after posting a .650 shooting performance from the field in the opening period.  The Blue Hose would shoot .370 in the second half but take the lead out to its largest point, 34, for the final margin.

PC will host UNC Asheville on Saturday night in the conclusion of a basketball doubleheader at the Templeton Center.  The Blue Hose women's team hosts Liberty at 5 p.m. before the men's team faces UNCA starting at approximately 7:30 p.m.

Fans can keep up with Blue Hose basketball and the rest of PC's 16 intercollegiate sports teams at www.Twitter.com/BlueHoseSports.  There, fans will find exclusive updates you can't find anywhere else.  If video is your quest, check out the BlueTube on www.GoBlueHose.com or www.youtube.com/BlueHoseAthletics.