Wednesday, February 16, 2005

BLUE HOSE DEFENSE SHUTS DOWN INDIANS 59-47

CLINTON, SC --- Presbyterian College used solid defense and got a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds from sophomore forward Grant Herren (Oviedo, FL) en route to a 59-47 victory over Newberry College in South Atlantic Conference men’s basketball action Wednesday night at the Ross E. Templeton Center. The win improves PC’s home win streak to 14 straight including a perfect 13-0 at home this season.

The first half was a defensive struggle as the game saw four lead changes and four ties. PC broke open a 12-12 tie at the 8:36 mark with a 15-0 run to pull ahead 27-12 with 2:28 remaining in the half. During the run four different Blue Hose players scored led by sophomore guard Sean Dixon (Marietta, GA) with six points. PC’s senior forward Rich Adams (Columbia, SC) scored three straight points including a putback dunk to push the lead to its largest margin of 16 points of the half at 30-14 with 1:28 remaining. PC and Newberry traded points in the final seconds as the Blue Hose led 32-16 at intermission. The 16 points by the Indians was their lowest halftime total of the season.

Dixon and Adams led the Blue Hose with eight first points apiece as the team shot 60.0% from the field. The Indians struggled in the first half to shoot only 28.6% from the field, but were led by redshirt sophomore forward Tymere Zimmerman (Bennettsville, SC) with five first half points.

The Indians opened the second half with solid defense and was able to cut the lead to 34-23 at the 17:42 mark fueled by a 7-2 run which was capped by a layup by sophomore forward Tommy Burke (Newberry, SC). The Blue Hose responded and were able to push the lead to 19 points at 42-23 on a layup by Herren just three minutes later.

Newberry made one final comeback attempt keyed by a 15-3 run over the next seven minutes to trim the lead to 45-38 capped by a layup from junior guard Michael Dease (Bennettsville, SC) with 7:06 remaining in the game. The Blue Hose then outscored the Indians 14-9 the rest of the way to secure the 59-47 victory.

Dixon led all Blue Hose scorers with 11 points while Newberry was led by Dease’s game-high 13 points. The Blue Hose held the Indians to their lowest point total of the season (47), surpassing the 49 points Newberry scored on two occasions. PC shot a season-best 60.0% from the field (21-of-35) while Newberry shot only 35.6% (16-of-45).

Presbyterian improves to 16-8 overall and 7-4 in the league while Newberry falls to 7-17 overall and 2-9 in league play.