The Presbyterian College men's basketball team pulled down a season-high 36 rebounds but was unable to convert them to points as the Blue Hose fell to Morehead State, 69-49, in action Saturday night at the Thomas Assembly Center as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in Ruston, La.
The Blue Hose drop to 1-3, while Morehead State improves to 2-3. PC rounds out tournament action Sunday with a 5 p.m., matchup against host Louisiana Tech.
Jordan Downing recorded his first career double-double with a team-leading 13 points and 10 rebounds, with Ed Drew behind him with seven. William Truss pulled down nine rebounds to add to his career-high tying six blocks.
Angelo Warner and Brent Arrington paced MSU with 18 points, with Karam Mashour following with his 10. Billy Reader and Chad Donley pulled down a team-high six rebounds apiece.
MSU shot 40.0% from the field for the game, connecting on 10 three-pointers, seven of which came in the second half. PC shot 39.1% from the field, and 70.0% from the charity stripe.
MSU held the 12-24 advantage in turnovers, resulting in a 22-6 margin in points off turnovers. Both teams were tied in rebounds with 36 apiece.
Morehead State scored two three-pointers in the first four minutes of the first half, leading the Eagles to the 9-2 lead with 15:21 on the clock. PC responded with five unanswered to cut the margin to just two, 9-7, at the 11:11 mark.
The Blue Hose uses two three-pointers by Downing, his first field goals of the game, to chip the lead to one, 14-13, with 8:55 left in the half. PC cut the lead to one again off another Downing three-pointer at 7:04 to make it 16-15. Morehead State rushed out with a 9-2 run, four points coming from Arrington, to take its largest lead of the half at eight, 25-17.
Down by eight again at 27-29, with 4:47 left in the half, PC used a three by Downing and a basket and free throw from Drew to help the Blue Hose rally back to a four-point game, 29-25, at the break.
Morehead State opened the second half with a three-pointer and jumper from Arrington to jump out to a nine-point, 34-25 lead with 18:36 to go. It began an 11-2 run for the Eagles as they took the 13-point, 40-27 lead. Drew cut the lead to 11 off a jumper with 15:32 on the clock, but Arrington responded with a basket of his own to make it a 13-point game again, 42-29, 15:25 remaining.
PC cut it to 46-36 off Austin Anderson's first three-pointer of the game at 12:35, before Willis answered with a three of his own at 12:12 to take the lead back to 13, 49-36. It ignited an 11-0 run that saw the Eagles extend their lead to 21, 57-36, with 7:42 to go.
Downing snapped the run with 7:24 left with a three-pointer from Downing, his fourth of the game. A 7-0 run by MSU gave the Eagles their largest lead of the game at 25, 64-39, with 4:08 to go, before Rueben Arroyo-Felix's gave PC its first points in almost three minutes of play with a three-pointer at 3:56.
Both teams traded baskets the final few minutes with the final a 69-49 decision by Morehead State.
