Saturday, February 3, 2001                                         

RAYFORD POWERS BLUE HOSE TO 58-51 WIN AT TUSCULUM

GREENEVILLE, TN --- Chuck Rayford (Greenville, S.C.) poured in 16 points to lead Presbyterian College to a 58-51 South Atlantic Conference victory over host Tusculum College Saturday afternoon at Alpine Arena.  The Blue Hose (13-7, 6-2 SAC) remain undefeated against the Pioneers (6-14, 1-7 SAC) in six meetings.

PC, who never trailed on the afternoon, shot 55 percent (11-20) in the opening half and led by as many as 15 points before settling for a 29-17 advantage at intermission.  The Blue Hose played solid defense in limiting Tusculum to 28 percent shooting and nine turnovers in the first half.

But in the final 20 minutes, trailing 52-38 with 7:12 remaining, the Pioneers went on a 10-0 run, paced by three-pointers from Benji Hawk (Greeneville, Tenn.) and Dustin Stokes (Seymour, Tenn.) to cut the deficit to 52-49 with 3:38 left.  Following a layup from PC's Rod Isom (Anderson, S.C.) 10 seconds later, TC senior Phil Jackson (Jacksonville, Fla.) recorded a dunk off a miss by Hawk to make the score 54-51 with 3:09 remaining.  But that would be all the scoring for TC as the Pioneers missed their final four shots down the stretch.

The Pioneers shot 38 percent from the floor for the game and a cold 2-for-8 from the free throw line for 25 percent. 

D.J. Humphries (Union, S.C.) recorded 13 points and eight rebounds, giving him 740 boards in his career, which are third most in South Atlantic Conference history.

The Pioneers were led by sophomore Pat Compton (Fairfield, Ohio) who posted 14 points, while Phil Jackson recorded his second double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Tusculum will host Catawba College Wednesday night at Alpine Arena, beginning at 8:00 p.m.  The Blue Hose travel to #4 Wingate University on Wednesday for an 8:00 p.m. contest at Cuddy Arena.