The Presbyterian College men's basketball team pulled down 52 rebounds, including 36 on the defensive end, to hold Gardner-Webb to just 10 second chance points and come away with the 68-62 Big South win on the road Saturday afternoon in Boiling Springs, N.C.
Cory Hightower led the scoring with 12 points, and also added 10 rebounds.
Ben Drake, who posted 10 points, pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds in the winning effort. The 2-0 league record marks the best start for PC in its Division I history.
Scoring the game
There were five three-pointers in the opening six minutes, with three coming from the Blue Hose to give the visitors a four-point, 12-8 lead at the 13:53 mark. Nate Johnson's three-pointer, his second of the game, cut the lead to one, with back to back free throws less than a minute later putting the Runnin' Bulldogs ahead, 13-12, 12:42 left before the break. A couple of free throws and two baskets, helped PC retake the four-point 18-14 lead, just under two minutes later. With both teams trading baskets, the Blue Hose were unable to get past a four-point margin down the stretch, the final time at 1:56, with a
Kody Shubert three-pointers and two
Chris Martin free throws erasing a GWU one-point lead and putting the visitors back in front, 27-23. Gardner-Webb would hit two free throws in the final two minutes, trimming the PC lead to two, 27-25, at the break.
PC, with the help of six points from Shubert, outscored Gardner-Webb, 14-7, the opening seven and a half minutes of the second half to build an 11-point, 43-32. The home team responded with a 14-4 run to cut the margin down to one, 46-47, just under nine to play. Back to back PC free throws and a
Cory Hightower basket made it a five-point game, before Jaheam Cornwall hit two three-pointers over a forty second span to help cut the margin to just one, 52-53, 5:37 left. Cornwall added three free throws a minute later and PC and Gardner-Webb were knotted at 55-55. The Blue Hose answered with four free throws and a layup to push the lead back to five, 2:14 to play. Gardner-Webb would cut the margin to three off a couple of free throws under two to play, but that would be as close as the Runnin' Bulldogs would get as Martin posted a layup at the one-minute mark, and
JC Younger and
Zeb Graham hit clutch free throws to keep the Blue Hose ahead at the end, 68-62.
Players of the Game
Cory Hightower recorded a team-leading 12 points, and 10 rebounds for his fifth career double-double.
Ben Drake added 10 points and a team-leading and career-high 16 rebounds. Nate Johnson led GWU with 19 points, with Eric Jamison, Jr., pacing the team on the boards with eight.
Stats of the Game
PC shot 36.4% for the game, with Gardner-Webb hitting just 28.8%. PC led in rebounds with a 52-36 advantage and had four more turnovers, 18-14. Free throws were tight with PC hitting three more, 22-of-27, to 19-of-27.
For the Record
PC improves to 5-10 overall and 2-0 in the Big South, while Gardner-Webb's record drops to 5-9, 1-1.
Notables
PC's 2-0 league record is the best in in its Division I history.
Ben Drake's career-high 16 rebounds tied for fifth in the PC DI record book.
The team's 52 rebounds tied for sixth in the PC DI record book.
Up Next
The Blue Hose are off for a week, returning to action at home Saturday, Jan. 11, against High Point. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m.
