Tuesday,
December
4, 2001
USC
SPARTANBURG HOLDS ON FOR 62-59
UPSET WIN OVER #21 PRESBYTERIAN
CLINTON,
SC —
USC Spartanburg’s sophomore guard Eric
Murrell (St. Stephen, SC) hit a three-pointer with :01 second remaining to
lift the Rifles to a 62-59 upset win over #21 ranked
Presbyterian College in men’s basketball action Tuesday
night.
Murrell’s three-pointer broke
a 59-59 tie with just second remaining. PC’s junior forward Jeff
Whittle (Strasburg, VA) had tied the game at 59-59
with :07 seconds left.
The Rifles opened the game hitting their first six shots and took a
15-4 lead at the 13:37 mark of the first half. PC tied
the game at 17-17 on a 13-2 run in the next six
minutes. The Blue Hose went cold from the field at that point
while the Rifles ended the first half on a 19-5 run to take a
36-22 lead into intermission. USC Spartanburg hit an amazing
15-of-19 shots in the first half, good for a 78.9% field goal
percentage. PC stayed in the game on nine-of-10 free throws
despite shooting 28.6% from the field.
USC Spartanburg opened the second half with a 7-5 run to take a
43-27 lead with 15:50 remaining in the game. PC fought back
and tied the game on a pair of free throws by junior guard Chuck
Rayford (Greenville, SC) with 3:44 remaining.
PC took their first lead of the second half at 56-55 with 2:46 left
on a pair of free throws by junior center Rod
Isom (Anderson, SC). The Rifles sophomore guard Kevin
Harrington (Beckley, WV) gave USC Spartanburg back the
lead followed by Murrell adding a layup to go ahead 59-56 with
:25 seconds left.
PC tied the game on Whittle’s three-pointer only to see Murrell,
who scored the Rifles’ last five points of the ballgame hit
the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer.
The Rifles were led by Murrell who tallied a team-high 13 points
while Harrington added 11 points and four assists. Junior
forward Curtis Blair (Chicago, IL) came off the bench
to add 13 points and five assists.
PC was led by Rayford’s game-high 18 points while sophomore Ben
Touchberry (Blacksburg, SC) came off the bench to
score a season-high nine points while Isom added nine points
and four rebounds.
USC Spartanburg improves to 3-3 on the season while #21
Presbyterian falls to 6-2.