BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.-The Presbyterian College men's
basketball team tied the game with
nineteen seconds remaining in the second half, but a called foul on the ensuing
possession sent Gardner-Webb to the line with nine tenths of a second left and they came away with the 63-62 win.
PC falls to 10-15 on the season and 4-9 in Big South
Conference action. The Blue Hose had
three players in double figures, with Khalid Mutakabbir (Suwanee, Ga.) leading
the way with 17 points. Pierre Miller
(Warner Robbins, Ga.) added 13 while Jake Troyli chipped in 12 points. Ryan Hargrave (Taylorsville, N.C.) came off
the bench to grab a team-high four rebounds.
PC shot 64.7 percent from the field in the second half and outshot
Gardner-Webb for the game, 54.1 percent to 47.2 percent.
PC trailed by seven points with 3:15 remaining in the game
and battled back to within three points using a three pointer from Miller and
two good free throws from Troyli to trail 59-62 with just under a minute
left. After holding Gardner-Webb
scoreless on its next possession, Mutakabbir drove the lane and drew the foul
on the made layup. Down only one,
Mutakabbir hit the free throw to tie the score at 62-62 with nineteen seconds
left. On the other end of the floor, the
Bulldogs were fouled and the trip to the line proved to be the deciding factor
as the home hit one free throw with nine-tenths of a second left and came away with the 63-62 victory.
Gardner-Webb fought to tie the score coming out at the
start of the second half, and used back-to-back three point plays to take a
36-34 lead at the 17:41 mark. The teams
traded baskets over the next couple of minutes, but the Bulldogs held a three
point advantage for most of the last ten minutes of the game until PC cut into
the lead in the final minute.
To start the game Walt Allen (London, Ky.) opened the
scoring for PC and hit a three pointer on the first possession, and the Blue
Hose took an early 7-2 lead after Mutakabbir hit both free throws at 17:21. But Gardner-Webb answered with a 9-0 scoring
run to take a lead they would hold until the final minute of the half.
PC battled back to trail by one point, 12-13 at the nine
minute mark, but Gardner-Webb extended its lead out to nine with just under six
minutes remaining in the half.
The Blue Hose, however, weren't finished and went on a
10-2 run that featured back-to-back three pointers from Miller to make the
score 25-26 in favor of the home team with 3:15 left in the half. GWU hit a jumper, but Troyli's two free
throws again brought PC within one point.
Mutakabbir was then fouled and hit both free throws to retake a 29-28
lead in the final minute. After a strong
Blue Hose defense on the ensuing possession held GWU scoreless, a basket from
Mutakabbir as time expired gave PC a 31-28 lead at halftime.
Gardner-Webb advances to 8-17 overall and 3-10 in
conference play. The Bulldogs were led
by Stefon Johnson, who had a double-double with 14 points and 16 rebounds,
while Laron Buggs added 17 points.
The Blue Hose return home after a three game road swing
to face Coastal Carolina on Thursday, Feb 10.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
