Clinton, S.C. - The Presbyterian College men's basketball team battled through a tough first half but couldn't hold UNC Asheville after the halftime break, and the visiting Bulldogs came away with a 74-48 victory. The Blue Hose trailed by only four points after the first half, 29-25, but couldn't come any closer as UNCA used an early 10-1 run in the second half to extend their lead before eventually clinching the win.
The Blue Hose fall to 8-9 on the year, and now stand at 2-3 in the Big South Conference. PC was led by Jake Troyli's (Largo, Fla. / Pinellas Park H.S.) 11 points, while Pierre Miller (Warner Robbins, Ga. / Warner Robbins H.S.) added nine points. Defensively, Josh Johnson (Hendersonville, Tenn. / Hendersonville H.S.) grabbed a team best six rebounds, and Walt Allen (London, Ky. / South Laurel H.S.) added four boards in the game. UNC Asheville was led by Matt Dickey's 16 points and the Bulldogs advance to an overall record of 8-8 and a 3-3 standing in the conference.
UNCA started the scoring in the first half with back to back baskets before Al'Lonzo Coleman (Charlotte, N.C. / Vance H.S.) sank a layup for PC's first points of the game. The teams then traded baskets until Miller hit his first of three treys in the game at the 13:35 mark to bring the score to 11-9 in favor of UNC Asheville. Miller's basket was the start of a 10-0 run for the Blue Hose, which included a three pointer by Johnson and another layup from Coleman, which came with 10:42 remaining in the first half and put PC on top 16-11.
The Bulldogs answered with a basket at 10:16 to end the Blue Hose run, and after a field goal for each team, Allen's two free throws at 8:20 gave PC a five point lead, 20-15. UNCA cut into the Blue Hose lead when they went 4-0 at the free throw line in the next two minutes, and with PC up by one a layup from Troyli make the score 22-19 with 5:25 remaining in the half. The Bulldogs continued to fight, however, and tied the score at 2:24, 25-25, before retaking the lead off of a layup with just under a minute left in the half. UNCA snagged the rebound off a missed jumper by PC and hit one last field goal before time expired to take a 29-25 lead at halftime.
In the second half, UNCA started with back to back field goals before Miller's three pointer put PC on the board and brought the score to 34-28 at the 17:40 mark in favor of the Bulldogs. PC was within six points, but would not get any closer in the half, as UNCA sank two more field goals in a row and never looked back. They would extend their lead to 15 points with 13:15 remaining, and would eventually go on to take the 74-48 victory.
The Blue Hose return to action on Thursday, Jan. 13 when they travel to Charleston Southern. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
