Saturday, March 15, 2003
PRESBYTERIAN
KNOCKS OFF SHAW 77-58 IN REGIONAL SEMIFINALS
Blue Hose advance to
championship game against Bowie State on Monday night at 7:00
pm
COLUMBUS, GA.- Presbyterian College senior guard Chuck Rayford (Greenville, S.C.) scored 24 points, 23 in the second half as the Blue Hose, the Cinderella team of the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional Tournament, advanced to the region championship game by defeating the fifth-seeded Shaw Bears 77-58 in the semifinals on Saturday night.
Using a patient offense that seemed to befuddle the Bears, Presbyterian shot 54% (25-46) percent from the field including an impressive 11-for-18 (61%) from three-point range. PC was led by freshman forward Tray Ballenger (Wellford, S.C.) in the first half as he connected on four three-point attempts and the Blue Hose opened up a double-digit lead midway through the half. Shaw could not find any offensive consistency in the first 20 minutes, shooting 26% (6-23) from the floor in the period.
Presbyterian (27-8) increased their lead to as many as 17 with 14:24 to play in the second half following senior center Preston Davis' (Charlotte, N.C.) layup, but Shaw responded with a 14-4 run over the next three minutes that cut the lead to seven with 11:01 to go. But Rayford took over for Presbyterian, scoring the next eight straight points for the Blue Hose, who built the lead back to double digits. Rayford then put the game out of reach by throwing a perfect pass on an alley-oop dunk to Ballenger, then draining a decisive three-pointer with 3:39 to go that put the game out of reach.
Ballenger finished the game with a career-high 19 points for PC after hitting five-of-seven three-point attempts. Freshman forward Michael Drum (Rural Hall, N.C.) added 12 points and senior center Rod Isom (Anderson, S.C.) led the team with eight rebounds.
Kenynon Booker scored 15 for Shaw (21-9) and also led the team with seven rebounds. The Bears came back to shoot 47% in the second half, but struggled from long range, hitting only four-of-13 three-point attempts. Harrell Butler added 10 points and five rebounds for Shaw and was the only other player to score in double figures.
Presbyterian advances to the school's first ever regional championship game where they will meet #2-seed Bowie State University Bulldogs. Bowie State advanced to the championship game by beating Kennesaw State University convincingly 90-75. The South Atlantic Regional Championship game will be played Monday, March 17, in the Frank G. Lumpkin Center at Columbus State University. The winner of the region championship advanced to the Division II Elite Eight in Lakeland, Fla., beginning next weekend.