CLINTON, S.C. – Behind a career-high scoring output from Carl Parrish and a double-double from Jonah Pierce, the Presbyterian Blue Hose (9-10, Big South: 2-2) powered past the UNC Asheville Bulldogs (8-11, Big South: 2-3), 71-70, at the Templeton Center on Wednesday evening.

Parrish scored a career-high 28 points while shooting 5-for-5 from beyond the three-point arc. Pierce recorded another double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Jaylen Peterson rounded out the Blue Hose double-figure scorers with 11 points while grabbing eight rebounds.

Presbyterian shot 54 percent (26-for-48) from the field in the game while shooting a blistering 68 percent (15-for-22)  in the first half.  

HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF – Parrish knocked down his first of four three-pointers in the half to get the Blue Hose on the board. After another three from Parrish, the Blue Hose took a 10-5 lead three minutes into the game. UNC Asheville scored eight of the next 11 points, tying the score at 13 with 13:18 on the clock. UNC Asheville would eventually take a three-point lead, 20-17, with 10 minutes left in the half. With UNC Asheville leading 22-19, the Blue Hose scored nine straight points, taking a 28-22 lead after a layup from Peterson with 5:04 left in the half. Presbyterian maintained the lead for the rest of the half, which included taking a 40-31 lead after a tip-in from Iverson King with seven seconds on the clock. UNC Asheville connected on a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer, cutting PC's lead to 40-34 at the half.


SECOND HALF – The Blue Hose scored five of the first six points of the half, taking a 45-35 lead after a layup from Pierce with 17:02 on the clock. The Bulldogs scored five straight points, cutting PC's lead in half.  Two free throws from Josh Pickett and two layups from Pierce pushed the Blue Hose lead back to double-digits, 51-40. The Blue Hose maintained a lead of 7-13 points until, with two minutes left in the game, with PC leading 69-57, UNC Asheville scored 13 of the final 15 points, cutting PC's final margin of victory to 71-70.


INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

• Parrish's 28 points marked his third 20-point scoring game of the season and the 13^th double-figure scoring output of the season. Parrish scored 20 points on 7-for-8 shooting from the field in the first half.
• Pierce's double-double was his ninth of the season and the 12^th of his career.
• With his 11 rebounds, Pierce has recorded 11 double-figure rebound games.
• Peterson's 11 points was his eighth double-figure scoring game of the season.

 
NEXT GAME
The Blue Hose are back on the road at Gardner-Webb this Saturday, January 17, at 2 p.m.