Monday, December 9, 2002

BLUE HOSE OUTLAST RIFLES 63-53 ON THE ROAD

Spartanburg, SC – Presbyterian grabbed an early lead, watched USC Spartanburg make a comeback to take the lead midway through the second half, then pulled away for a 63-53 victory in the G.B. Hodge Center Monday night.

The win lifts Presbyterian to 8-2 on the year, while USCS falls to 3-3.

Presbyterian held a six-point lead, 37-31, with 16:57 to play in the game.  Petros Tsampas hit a turn around jumper to start a 9-3 run that pulled the Rifles even at 40-40 with 12:38 to play. A lay-up by Dave Diebel extended the run to 11-3 and gave USCS its first lead, 42-40, with 10:31 to play.  The Rifles last led in the game, 17-16, at the 10:25 mark of the first half.

However, Presbyterian rattled off a 10-2 run to take a six-point lead led by freshman forward Tray Ballenger (Wellford, S.C.) who tallied five points in the run and gave the Blue Hose the lead for good. The advantage never got below three points the rest of the way as the Blue Hose held on for the win. Senior guard Chuck Rayford (Greenville, S.C.) hit seven-of-nine free throws in the final :30 seconds to seal the win. PC hit on nine-of-20 three-point attempts including six-of-10 in the first half.

The game was back-and-forth in the first half until the 10-minute mark.  With USCS leading 17-16, Presbyterian went on a 10-0 run to take a nine-point lead with 5:23 to go in the half and went into the intermission with a 33-28 advantage.

USCS shot just 39 percent from the floor, while Presbyterian shot at a 47 percent clip.  The Rifles only turned the ball over 10 times, but the Blue Hose held a 10-rebound advantage on the boards.

Rayford scored 15 points to lead Presbyterian, while freshman forward Michael Drum (Rural Hall, N.C.) and junior guard Andrew Dellinger (Mauertown, Va.) added 12 and 10 points, respectively. Dellinger scored all 10 of his points before intermission as the Blue Hose shot 52.4% in the first half. Drum on the night hit four-of-five from three-point land en route to his 12 points and added a game-high seven rebounds.

Kevin Harrington led USCS with 15 points, three assists, and two blocks. Curtis Blair and Tsampas added 11 points each for the Rifles. 

PC returns to action this Thursday, December 12 as they host Lander University at 7:00 pm.