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Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Versinskas Ties Career High In
Road Win Over Mars Hill
MARS HILL, N.C. – Martynas Versinskas tied a career
high with 18 points in Presbyterian’s 66-63 win over Mars Hill in South
Atlantic Conference men’s basketball action on Wednesday evening at
Stanford Arena.
Versinskas came off the bench to finish a perfect
8-of-8 from the free throw line in the win and 5-for-8 from the field.
Grant Herren (Oviedo, Fla.) added 13 for the Blue
Hose in 28 minutes of action. Drew Biggs (Alpharetta, Ga.) concluded his
evening one point shy of tying his season high with 10 points.
Jamison McIver (Taylorsville, N.C.) led the Lions
in the loss with 16 points. He was one of two Lions in double figures
with Stoney Polite finishing the day with 13 points.
Mars Hill commenced the game by taking a 7-2 lead.
The Blue Hose fought their way back to eventually pull ahead and lead by
as many as five in the opening minutes of the contest.
Presbyterian held a 19-17 lead when the first media
timeout of the game was called at the 9:38 mark of the first half.
The Lions took advantage of the breather, taking a
23-20 lead after going on a short 6-1 run after the two teams returned
to the court after the media timeout.
Pat Kiscaden (Oviedo, Fla.) hit a three-pointer
with less than three seconds left in the first half to give Presbyterian
its largest lead of the game at 44-35 entering halftime.
Versinskas stole the show for the Blue Hose in the
first half. The Kaunas, Lithuania native was perfect in all aspects in
the first stanza, finishing the half with 14 points after going a
perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe and 3-for-3 from the field.
Versinskas was not the only Blue Hose player to
finish the first half perfect as Herren was 4-of-4 from the free throw
line and 2-for-2 from the field to end the first half with eight points.
The Lions kept close to the Blue Hose from the
outset of the second half. The Blue Hose and Lions traded baskets for
the majority of the opening minutes of the second half with the Blue
Hose holding to a four-point lead at the 9:56 mark of the second half.
The Lions were able to get as close as two points
at 65-63 with under 30 seconds left to go in the contest, but the Blue
Hose were able to hold off the Lions’ charge after Polite (Morganton,
N.C.) missed a three-point attempt to place the Lions ahead.
PC’s Bryan Bostic (Norcross, Ga.) hit a free throw
to give Presbyterian the 66-63 victory.
Presently ranked 10th in the South
Atlantic Region, Presbyterian improves to 6-3 in SAC play with the
victory and 13-7 overall. The Lions fall to 7-12 overall and 3-6 in SAC
games.
The Blue Hose have now won six consecutive games
over Mars Hill, including both of their contests this season.
Presbyterian, who concludes the month of January at
6-3, next welcomes Lenoir-Rhyne to the Templeton Center for a 4 p.m.
contest on Saturday, Feb. 3.
Box Score
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