RADFORD, VA.-The Presbyterian College men's basketball
team used two huge three pointers by Pierre Miller (Warner Robbins, Ga.) to
defeat Radford in overtime, 52-49.
Miller hit a long three to tie the game with 2.4 seconds left in
regulation to send the game to overtime, and hit another three with four
seconds left in overtime to give the Blue Hose a lead they would not
relinquish.
PC advances to 12-16 on the year and 6-10 in Big South
Conference action. The Blue Hose were
led by Jake Troyli's (Largo, Fla.) 12 points, while Miller added nine points,
all of which came in the second half. Three
PC players grabbed eight rebounds, including Khalid Mutakabbir (Suwanee, Ga.),
who also scored nine total points and tallied five assists.
PC was able to overcome a slow first half to trail by
only four points to start the second half.
Mutakabbir sank a three-pointer at 17:22 to bring PC within one point,
and Walt Allen (London, Ky.) then hit one of two free throws to tie the score at 24-24. After trading baskets, Allen made a layup to
give the Blue Hose their first lead of the game, 29-27 with 15:41 remaining in
the second half.
PC led 35-27 after Josh Johnson (Hendersonville, Tenn.) hit his second three pointer
of the half at the 12:36 mark and extended PC's scoring run to eleven
unanswered points, but Radford responded with back-to-back three pointers to
come back within two points and trailed 35-33 with ten minutes left in the
game.
Radford retook the lead off a jumper at 9:35, and Troyli
sank a basket at 6:16 to make it 40-39 in favor of the home team, but the
Highlanders hit a shot to give them the three point advantage they would hold
for the next four and a half
minutes. The score stayed at 42-39 even
after Radford went to the line with 34 seconds left, and Miller then sank a
long three pointer to tie the score at 42-42 with 2.4 seconds left and
ultimately send the game to overtime.
Each team hit an early three pointer to keep the score knotted
at 45-45, but Radford's basket at 1:50 gave them a 49-47 lead with 40 seconds
left. A block by Allen gave PC the ball
back and another three pointer by Miller put PC ahead 50-49 with 4.4 seconds
remaining. The Blue Hose held the
Highlanders on the ensuing possession, and a foul sent Allen to the line. A missed free throw led to a jump ball and
the possession went to PC. Still ahead
by one, Allen was again fouled and hit both free throws with three seconds
remaining to seal the 52-49 victory.
Radford started the game with a 13-0 run before Johnson
sank a three pointer to give the Blue Hose their first points of the game. After starting the half slow, PC was able to
come back within four points with help from an 11 to four scoring run in the
last nine minutes of the first half.
Allen drew a charge in final two minutes to give possession back to PC
and grabbed a big offensive rebound on the other end, leading to one of two
free throws for the Blue Hose. Trailing
by four points, 22-18, PC held for the last shot of the half but was unable to
find the basket.
The Blue Hose shot only 25 percent from the field in the
first half, going 7 for 28, and went to the locker room down 22-18. For the game, they Blue Hose were able to up
their shooting percentage to 33.3 percent and outrebounded the
Highlanders, 52 to 49.
Radford falls to 5-21 on the year and 2-14 in conference
play. The Highlanders were led by
Gorkem Sonmez and Blake Smith, who each had 12 points. Martins Abele grabbed a team-high eight
rebounds for Radford.
PC returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 19 for a home
contest against Davidson. Along with
being the second feature of a doubleheader, the game is also PC's second
consecutive appearance in the Sears BracketBuster event and the program's first
year as a host. Tip-off is scheduled for
7:30 p.m.
