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Presbyterian College

Scoreboard

Cory Hightower
Shawn Knox
77
Winner USC Upstate USCU 9-13,4-5 Big South
74
Presbyterian Presb 8-14,5-4 Big South
Winner
USC Upstate USCU
9-13,4-5 Big South
77
Final
74
Presbyterian Presb
8-14,5-4 Big South
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
USC Upstate USCU 36 41 77
Presbyterian Presb 39 35 74

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Blue Hose Drop Heartbreaker At Buzzer

CLINTON, S.C. -- USC Upstate's Everette Hammond connected on a three-pointer as time expired to lead the Spartans to a 77-74 victory over the Presbyterian College men's basketball team in Big South action on Thursday night inside the Templeton Center. Cory Hightower led the offense with 19 points as he also pulled down a team-leading seven rebounds.
 
Scoring the game
USC Upstate scored the first five points but the Blue Hose went on a 7-2 run to even the game up at seven in the early going. The two teams stayed tight with six lead changes over the next five minutes as they stayed within three points of each other. The Blue Hose responded with a 11-0 run in over the next 3:25 to take a 27-18 lead with 6:44 to go in the half. The guests used a quick 7-2 burst to cut it to a three-point advantage for PC at 28-25. Following a step back three from Hightower, the Spartans went on an 8-2 run to even the game up at 33 with 2:32 to go in the first half. PC closed with six of the final nine points of the half to take a 39-36 lead to the intermission.

The Blue Hose opened with a quick 5-0 burst to push the lead out to 44-36 before a 11-3 Spartans run got the game to tie at 47 with 15:24 to play. Much like the first half both teams stayed tight throughout much of the middle part of the second half with PC getting out to a pair of four-point leads. Upstate evened the score at 59 with 8:28 remaining.  Michael Isler connected on a three with 8:11 to play to give PC a 62-59 lead before a 10-4 burst over the next four minutes gave the guests a 69-66 lead. The game remained tight down the stretch as a 5-2 Blue Hose run evened the game up at 71 with 3:28 to play. The guests gained a three-point lead with 2:16 to play on a Tommy Bruner basket. The Blue Hose pushed back at the free-throw line to even the game back at 74 with 1:27 to go. The Spartans used a three-pointer from Everette Hammond as time expired to give them the 77-74 victory.
 
Players of the Game
Cory Hightower paced the Blue Hose with 19 points, while Michael Isler added a career-high 17 points. Hightower pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Tommy Bruner paced the Spartans with 28 points, while Hammond added 21 points. Hammond was tops in rebounds with seven.
 
Stats of the Game
Both teams shot well from the field as Upstate shot 59%, while the Blue Hose shot 50%. The Spartans made nine threes and PC connected on six. The Blue Hose had a 36-20 advantage on the glass. Presbyterian had a 25-14 lead in bench points and had a 36-32 lead in points in the paint.

For the Record
PC drops to 8-14 overall and 5-4 in the Big South, while USC Upstate improves to 9-13 and 4-5 in the conference.
 
Notables
Michael Isler set a pair of career-highs with 17 points on seven made field goals.
It marked the sixth time this season PC shot 50% or higher in a game.
 
Up Next
The Blue Hose travel to Hampton on Saturday February 2. The game is set for a 4 pm tip off and will air live on ESPN+ and WPCC.
 
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