HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Panthers shot almost 70% in the second half and used the hot shooting to earn an 82-70 league victory over the Presbyterian College men's basketball team on Thursday night inside the Millis Center in High Point, N.C. Ben Drake led the Blue Hose with 15 points and six rebounds.
Scoring the game
The Blue Hose got out to an early 9-4 lead as PC connected on three of its first five shots to get the early lead. The hosts responded with a 10-4 run over the next four minutes to take a 14-13 lead with 11:38 to play in the first half. PC regained the lead courtesy of a quick 7-3 burst over 1:46 to give the Blue Hose a 20-16 lead with 9:52 to play in the half. High Point answered with a 10-2 spurt that gave them its biggest lead of the first half at 26-22 with 6:31 to play. Ben Drake capped a 7-2 run with a three at the 4:50 mark to give the Blue Hose a 29-28 lead. After a quick three from the Panthers, PC closed the half scoring nine of the final 10 points in the game to take a six-point lead, 38-32 to the intermission.
High Point came out quickly with nine unanswered to take a 41-38 lead just two minutes into the second half. PC responded with a 9-4 run to take a 47-44 advantage following a Sean Jenkins layup with 14:32 to play in the second half. High Point connected on a pair of threes to regain the three-point lead at 50-47 before a Ben Drake three-point play knotted the game up at 50. The hosts used a 7-2 burst to take a 57-52 lead with 10:44 to play in the second half. The Blue Hose cut the Panthers lead to three, 60-57 with 9:35 to play before a 7-3 run from High Point pushed the lead back out to seven with 6:48 to go. Jenkins connected on a quick three to cut the lead down to four, 67-63 before scoring six of the next eight-point to push the lead back out to eight, 73-65 with 2:48 to play. The hosts closed the game on a 9-5 run to pick up the 82-70 victory on Thursday.
Players of the Game
Ben Drake led the Blue Hose with 15 points as he connected on six-of-eight field goals. Michael Isler, Sean Jenkins, and Kody Shubert each added 10 points. Drake had a team-high six rebounds, while Zeb Graham and Shubert had four assists apiece. High Point was led by Eric Coleman Jr who had 30 points. Rob Peterson III had a team-high seven rebounds.
Stats of the Game
Both teams shot very well in the opening half, with PC shooting 56%, compared to 50% for the Panthers. PC and HPU hit four threes apiece in the first 20 minutes. For the game, High Point shot 56.8% after hitting 12-of-18 from the field in the second half (66.7%). PC shot 11-of-25 from the floor in the second half for 50% for the game. Presbyterian led the rebounding battle with a 28-26 edge, with turnovers in favor of the Blue Hose 15-11. High Point connected on 23 free throws and nine threes, while the Blue Hose made 13 free throws and seven three-pointers. PC led points in the paint by eight, 34-26. High Point led the assists 16-14.
For the Record
PC falls to 9-19 overall and 6-9 in the Big South, while High Point moves to 9-19, 6-9.
Notables
PC shot at least 50% from the floor for the ninth time on the year.
Up Next
The Blue Hose hit the road for the final time during the 2019-20 regular season on Saturday with a trip to UNC Asheville for a 4:30 pm tipoff from Kimmel Arena. The game will air live on ESPN3 and on the radio at WPCC.
