The Presbyterian College men's basketball team broke open a 10-point game at the half, outscoring Kentucky Christian, 41-26 in the second to take the 81-56 win in non-conference action Sunday afternoon at Templeton Center in Clinton, S.C.
Ben Drake led the Blue Hose with 14 points, with
Owen McCormack pacing the team on the boards with nine rebounds.
Scoring the game
Kentucky Christian opened the first half strong, taking a 9-8 lead with 16:34 to go off a three-pointer by Noah Back. The Blue Hose responded with 16 unanswered, helped by six from
Ben Drake, to take the largest lead of the half, 24-9. The Knights came back with a run of their own, this one a 15-0 stretch to tie the game at 24-24, 5:59 left before intermission. During the run, KCU hit five three-pointers in a row, three coming from Back.
Zeb Graham ended the PC drought with a jumper at 5:44, and ignited a 14-4 run to give PC a 12-point, 40-28, lead, under 30 seconds remaining. KCU hit a basket with five seconds on the clock and went into the locker room at the break trailing by 10, 30-40.
The second half opened with a three-pointer from Jenkins to five PC a 13-point lead, just over 19 minutes to go. KCU was able to cut the margin to 11 a couple of times, the final time off a Cardinal Brown jumper at 17:43 to make it 45-34, PC. The Blue Hose outscored the Knights, 11-3, the next four minutes to extend the lead to 19, 56-37, 13:26 left. A Drake layup at 12:20 broke the 20-point margin as PC dominated down the stretch building a 29-point, 73-44 lead at 6:24. Both teams traded points the final few minutes with PC taking the win, 81-56.
Players of the Game
Ben Drake led the Blue Hose in the first have with 10 points, to finish the game with 14. Back had 12 in the opening half, all from a four-of-seven effort from behind the arc, to end the contest with 14. Leading PC on the boards was
Owen McCormack with nine. Cole Gilliland posted nine rebounds for KCU.
Stats of the Game
Presbyterian shot 50.0 % in the first half, while holding KCU to 36.75. The Blue Hose held the 54.7%-35.1% advantage at the end of the game after shooting 60.0% in the second. The Knights hit seven three-pointers in the first half, finishing with nine, after posting just two in the final 20 minutes. PC was seven-of-19 in in three-pointers. PC out-rebounded KCU 44-28, and hit four-of-nine from the charity stripe. The Knights, which hit seven free throws, posted one more turnover than PC, 9-8.
For the Record
PC improves to 3-10 overall, while Kentucky Christian's record remains 3-13 as this is considered an exhibition for the Knights.
Notables
Zeb Graham recorded a career-high 12 points and five assists, his six-of-nine effort from the field also a career-best.
Sean Jenkins pulled down a career-high seven rebounds.
Owen McCormack tied his career-high with 11 points.
Up Next
The Blue Hose continue their two-game home stand with the Big South Conference opener Thursday, Jan. 2, against UNC Asheville. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m., and will air live on ESPN+ and WPCC.
