Saturday,
January 4, 2003
BLUE
HOSE HOLD ON FOR A 55-44 VICTORY OVER ERSKINE
CLINTON,
S.C. — Presbyterian College senior center Rod
Isom (Anderson, SC) tallied 17 points and six rebounds to lead the Blue
Hose to a hard fought 55-44 victory over the Flying Fleet of
Erskine College in men’s basketball action Saturday night.
The Blue Hose improve to
12-2 on the season with the win while Erskine falls to 2-3 on
the season.
The first half was a
defensive struggle with the Blue Hose clinging to a 18-14 lead
entering intermission. PC struggled to shoot 26.1% from the
field before halftime while Erskine was equally as cold from
the field, shooting 18.2%.
The second half was closely
contested for the first 10 minutes as the Blue Hose could not
shake off the Flying Fleet. PC extended their lead to 35-28 at
the 10:11 mark on a layup by senior guard Chuck
Rayford
(Greenville, SC). On the next possession, Erskine fought
back and cut the lead to four points at 35-31 on a
three-pointer by senior forward Markus Oertelt (Berlin, Germany). Oertelt’s basket would be a
close as the Flying Fleet would get down the stretch as the
Blue Hose pushed the lead to double figures at 44-34 with 5:15
remaining in the game. PC would hold the lead in double
figures in the final minutes as senior forward Jeff
Whittle
(Strasburg, VA) hit a pair of three-pointers.
Isom hit nine-of-11 free throws en route to his team-high 15 points for the Blue Hose. Joining Isom in scoring was Rayford who tallied his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Whittle added nine points and freshman forward Michael Drum (Rural Hall, NC) chipped in eight points.
The Flying Fleet were led
by senior forward Jeff
Wiersma (Newark, OH) who tallied a game-high 18 points and
added seven rebounds and six blocks.