CLINTON, S.C. – Behind five double-figure scorers the Presbyterian Blue Hose (9-8, Big South: 1-1) battled until the end but fell in a tightly contested game to the UNC Asheville Bulldogs (10-7, Big South: 2-0), 84-80, in the Templeton Center on Saturday afternoon.
Junior guard
Marquis Barnett led the Blue Hose with 22 points and six assists. Junior guard
Jamahri Harvey tallied 11 points. Senior guard
Kobe Stewart scored 10 points and dished out four assists. Junior forward
Jonah Pierce scored 10 points, grabbed five rebounds, and dished out three assists. Junior guard
Samage Teel scored 10 points and dished out 10 assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF – The Bulldogs scored the first four points. Then, Presbyterian's Teel got the Blue Hose on the board with a three from the wing. With UNC Asheville leading, 10-5, PC scored four straight points cutting UNCA's lead to one point, 10-9, with 14:46 on the clock. A layup by Stewart and two threes from
Crosby James gave the Blue Hose a 17-12 lead with 12:10 on the clock. After a fastbreak layup from Barnett gave the Blue Hose a 21-14 with 11 minutes left. Presbyterian would also lead by seven points, 26-19 with eight and a half minutes left in the half and with 7:59 on the clock. UNC Asheville took a 29-28 lead at the 5:55 mark. Two free throws by Stewart pushed the Blue Hose back in front by two. Then the Bulldogs scored 16 of the final 21 points taking a 45-35 halftime lead.
SECOND HALF – The two teams exchanged baskets for the first three minutes of the half. With UNC Asheville leading 49-39 with 17 minutes on the clock, the Blue Hose scored five straight points behind a dunk from
Kaleb Scott and a three-point play by Harvey cutting UNC Asheville's lead to 49-44 with 15:27 on the clock. Presbyterian cut UNC Asheville's lead to 53-49 after a jumper by Teel. The Blue Hose would get within four points of UNC Asheville three more times over the next 10 minutes. With the Bulldogs leading 78-72, a three from Stewart and a layup from Barnett cut UNC Asheville's lead to 78-77 with 1:14 on the clock. UNC Asheville's Drew Pember, who scored 29 points, connected on two free throws. Then, another layup from Barnett got the Blue Hose back within one point, 80-79, with 38 seconds on the clock. Pember made two free throws to push the Bulldogs back in front by three points, 82-79. Barnett made one free throw to cut UNC Asheville's lead to 82-80 with five seconds on the clock but the Blue Hose were not able to get any closer.
NOTES
- Presbyterian dished out 20 assists on 29 made field goals.
- Presbyterian behind the scoring of Stewart, Pierce, James, who scored six points, and Kory Mincy, who scored five points, outscored UNC Asheville's bench, 31-12.
- Barnett's 22 points marked his third 20-point scoring game of the season and the 13th double-figure scoring game of the season.
- Harvey's 11 points was his ninth double-digit offensive output of the season.
- Pierce's 10 points was his seventh double-figure scoring game of the season.
- Teel's 10 points marked his 11th double-digit scoring game of the season.
- Stewart recorded his sixth double-figure scoring game of the season with his 10 points.
- Presbyterian, who leads the Big South Conference in field goal percentage, shot 50.9 percent (29-57) from the field.
NEXT GAME
Presbyterian plays the Winthrop Eagles at the Templeton Center this Wednesday, January 10 at 7 p.m.
