CLINTON, S.C.  – In a game that went back and forth, the Presbyterian Blue Hose (2-8) battled the College of Charleston Cougars (9-1) down to the wire before coming up short in a 67-62 loss at the Templeton Center on Tuesday evening. College of Charleston is on the cusp of entering the Top 25 being the second team receiving votes in this week's poll.
 
Winston Hill paced all scorers with 19 points while shooting 7-for-11 from the field. Marquis Barnett scored 14 points. Trevon Reddish-Rhone scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds. Kobe Stewart scored seven points and grabbed eight rebounds off the bench.  
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HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF – After College of Charleston scored the game's first four points, the Blue Hose scored 16 of the next 20 points taking a 16-8 lead after a dunk by Hill with 13:36 on the clock. Barnett, Owen McCormack, and Crosby James scored during the run. Barnett scored seven points during the Blue Hose run. With the Blue Hose leading 18-12 at the 13:14 mark of the half, the Cougars outscored PC 14-6 over the next seven minutes taking a 26-24 lead with five and a half minutes left in the half. Stewart connected on a three from the top of the key pushing the Blue Hose back in front, 27-26. College of Charleston scored the final six points of the half taking a 32-27 halftime lead.  
 
SECOND HALF – The Blue Hose scored five of the first six points of the second half cutting the Cougars' to 33-31 after Reddish-Rhone converted on a layup with 17:22 on the clock. The Cougars pushed their lead to seven points, 48-41 at the eleven-minute mark. A layup by Hill, a free throw from McCormack, and a layup by Stewart cut Charleston's lead to 48-46 with just under ten minutes left in the half. The Cougars would eventually take a 61-51 lead with five and a half minutes left in the second half. A layup by Hill and a three from the wing by Barnett got the Blue Hose within five points, 61-56 at the 3:31 mark. However, Presbyterian was not able to get any closer to the Cougars for the rest of the game.
 

NOTES

• Presbyterian defense limited the Cougars to 67 points which was 14 points under their season scoring average.
• The Blue Hose scored 36 points in the paint.
• Hill's 19 points marked his third double-figure scoring game of the season and the 32^nd of his career.
• Barnett's 14 points marked his seventh double-digit scoring game of the season and the 12^th of his career.
• The Blue Hose grabbed 10 offensive rebounds which was the seventh time this season that Presbyterian has grabbed double-figure offensive rebounds in a game.

 
NEXT GAME
The Blue Hose travel to Columbia, South Carolina to play the University of South Carolina this Sunday, December 11 at 6 p.m.