South Carolina State rallied from a double-digit deficit in the second half to get within two before the Presbyterian College men's basketball team used clutch free throws to hold the Bulldogs at Bay and take the 62-56 win Friday evening at the Templeton Center. For the third game in a row Rayshon Harrison led the team with 15 points.
 
Scoring the Game
A close back and forth contest the opening five minutes, The Blue Hose broke a 4-4 tie with a Zeb Graham basket at 14:53. PC extended its lead to seven at 11:26, after a Trevon Reddish layup.  The home team could not quite pull away, with the Bulldogs cutting the margin to three with a Jemal Davis basket at 8:58.  PC responded with a 15-3 run, helped by seven from Giancarlo Sanchez, to take a 15-point 32-17 lead, 3:36 left on the clock. A couple of free throws and a three-pointer by the Bulldogs in the final two minutes would cut into the PC lead, as the Blue Hose went into the locker room at half leading 36-25.
 
Presbyterian extended its lead to 14 early in the second half and led by 13 with 13:42 on the clock. SC State rallied to within seven over the next two-and-half minutes with a layup from Quamain Nelson and four straight free throws, trailing 38-45, 11:08 on the clock. PC hit four unanswered to take the lead back up to 11, but a jumper and three-pointer by Nelson helped cut the Blue Hose margin to just three, 46-49, 4:31 left.  PC went ahead by seven again off a Harrison three-pointer at 3:35, but the Bulldogs kept chipping away and responding to the Blue Hose shot for shot, making it a two-point game, 56-58, off a Latavian Lawrence three-pointer with 31 seconds to go. That would be as close as the Bulldogs would get as PC hit five free throws in the final 30 seconds to come away with the six-point 62-56 win.
 
Players of the Game
For the third game in a row, Rayshon Harrison led the Blue Hose in scoring with 15 points. In his PC debut Brandon Younger pulled down 14 rebounds.  South Carolina State was led by Jemal Davis with 14 points, while Latavian Lawrence and Rahsaan Edwards posted four rebounds apiece.
 
Stats of the Game
The Bulldogs shot 39.5%, to PC's 35.6% for the game, while the Blue recorded 44 rebounds to SC State's 26. Free throws were fairly even with the Blue Hose going 19-22, SC State going 16-for-29. The Bulldogs held a 6-1 advantage in three-pointers.
 
Notables
- Brandon Younger's 14 rebounds were just four shy of the PC record of 18.
- Rayshon Harrison led the team with double-digit scoring for the third game in a row.
 
For the Record
PC improves to 2-1 overall, while SC State moves to 0-9.
 
Up Next
In their final tune-up before conference season begins, the Blue Hose travel to The Citadel Dec. 22, for a 3:00 PM contest.
 
How to follow
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