Saturday, December 21, 2002
BLUE
HOSE SHOOT PAST CRUSADERS 91-53
PC hits 16-of-32 three-pointers on the night
CLINTON,
S.C. — Presbyterian College used a deadly touch from
three-point range and held the Crusaders to 53 points en route
to a 91-53 victory over the North Greenville Crusaders in
men’s basketball action Saturday night.
The Blue Hose (11-2) hit
for a season-high 16 three-point field goals on 32 attempts in
the rout of the Crusaders. PC’s senior guard Chuck
Rayford (Greenville, S.C.) led four Blue Hose in
double figures with 13 points to go along with four assists.
Rayford inches closer to passing former Blue Hose
All-American, Bret
Jones for fourth place in South Atlantic Conference
history. Jones scored 1,583 points in his career and Rayford
stands at 1,573 career points entering the holiday break. He
will get his chance to pass Jones on January 4 when the Blue
Hose host Erskine College at 7:00 pm.
The first half was closely
contested by both teams until the Blue Hose used a 13-4 run in
the last two minutes including a incredible play by Rayford
who stole the inbound pass and hit a three-point basket
falling out-of-bounds at the halftime buzzer.
Both teams shot well in the
first half with North Greenville shooting 56.5% from the field
while PC shot 45.7% including eight-of-19 three-pointers.
The second half saw the
Blue Hose continue their hot shooting from the field, hitting
14-of-22 field goals for 63.6%. The lead increased to as many
as 38 points on the final points of the game, a pair of free
throws by senior center Preston Davis (Charlotte, N.C.).
PC’s defense shutdown the Crusaders in the second half,
holding North Greenville to 30.3% from the field.
PC’s defense has now held
four straight opponents under 60 points and for the season
only six out of 13 opponents have surpassed the 60-point
plateau. The Blue Hose continue their best start since the
1992-93 season and have won six straight and 12 of their last
13.
Joining Rayford for scoring
honors was senior forward Jeff
Whittle (Strasburg, Va.) and freshman forward Tray
Ballenger (Wellford, S.C.) who each scored 12 points
apiece. Junior guard Andrew
Dellinger
(Mauertown, Va.) rounded out the double figures scorers
for PC with 11 points on three-of-six from beyond the arc.
North Greenville (1-9) was led by junior guard Rob Wilton (Spartanburg, S.C.) who led all scorers with 16 points while sophomore forward Tevor Boggs (Piedmont, S.C.) added 12 points.