Saturday, December 9, 2000

BLUE HOSE HOLD ON FOR A 56-52 WIN OVER FLYING FLEET
PC's Isom grabs a career-high 16 rebounds in Blue Hose win

CLINTON, SC - PC's starting backcourt of senior Kevin Campbell and sophomore Chuck Rayford combined for 25 points to lead the Blue Hose to a 56-52 win over Erskine College in men's basketball action Saturday night.

The Blue Hose fought back from a six-point second half deficit with 10:49 remaining and regained the lead at 52-50 with 3:11 remaining. The Flying Fleet led throughout the second half matching each Blue Hose run with one of their own. PC, who struggled on the night from the free throw line (four-of-12), hit a pair of free throws by freshman guard Andrew Dellinger (Mauertown, VA) with :04 seconds remaining to seal the win.

Campbell, a native of Piedmont, SC, kept the Blue Hose in the game first half with a pair of three-pointers. Rayford, a native of Greenville, SC, struggled in the first half hitting only two-of-10 from the field, caught fire in the second half and scored eight of his 13 points after intermission.

The game opened with both teams struggling to find the shooting touch from the field. Neither team could pull away with the biggest lead by either team in the first half being four points. The lead changed hands throughout the first half with Erskine taking a 29-26 lead into intermission on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Colibar Matos (Brooklyn, NY) with 18 seconds remaining. 

Joining Campbell and Rayford for Blue Hose scoring honors is senior forward D.J. Humphries (Union, SC) who tallied seven points and seven rebounds while sophomore center Rod Isom (Anderson, SC) set a new career-high with 16 rebounds.

Erskine was led by senior forward Hunter Roark (Hillsboro,KY) who tallied a game-high 17 points including 12 in the first half. Roark added eight rebounds and was a perfect eight-for-eight from the charity stripe. Joining Roark was freshman guard Asten Lawson (Columbia, SC) who came off the bench to score eight points.

Neither team shot well for the game with Erskine shooting 37.5% from the field while the Blue Hose struggled to shoot 32.3%. Presbyterian dominated the boards holding a 48-33 advantage.

Presbyterian improves to 6-3 on the season while Erksine falls to 2-4.