Joshua Clyburn went eight-of-11, while William Truss was a perfect seven-of-seven from the field, leading the Presbyterian College men's basketball team to the 77-35 win over Montreat in action tonight at the Templeton Center in Clinton, S.C.
PC snaps a four-game skid to improve to 3-11 overall, while Montreat falls to 3-8.
Clyburn and Truss both led the team in scoring with 16 apiece, while Khalid Mutakabbir followed with 11 on the night. Truss paced the team in rebounds as well, with nine. Brandon Dockery led the Cavaliers with eight points, followed by Charles Smith-Perry and Erich Allen with six each. Ian McVay's seven rebounds was tops for Montreat.
The Blue Hose shot 57.9% from the field, while included a 17-of-28 effort in the second half. Montreat was held to just 26.9% from the field and only 19.0% in the first half as PC took the lead at intermission, 37-13.
PC held the 40-28 advantage in rebounds and had five less turnovers, 10-15. The size difference proved to be a hug advantage for the Blue Hose as the scored 20 more points in the paint, 28-18.
Leading by just two, 6-4, with 15:23 on the clock, the Blue Hose scored six unanswered to go up by eight, 12-4, with 13:23 on the clock. Montreat would get no closer than six the remainder of the half as PC outscored the Cavaliers 25-9 down the stretch, which included two three-pointers by Jordan Downing, one by Mutakabbir and eight points by Clyburn.
The Cavaliers were held scoreless the final 6:06 of the first half to head into the locker room trailing 37-13.
Montreat's offensive woes continued in the second half as the Blue Hose opened with a 17-4 run to build a 54-17 lead with 13 minutes remaining. Highlighting the run were three-pointers by Mutakabbir and Mac Lake, as well as a stretch of six straight points by Truss.
The Cavaliers used a 9-2 run to cut the margin to 30 at the 10:01 mark, but only scored nine points the remainder of the game to fall by the final 77-35 score.
PC opens Big South play Saturday, Jan. 5 with a 7 p.m. game against VMI at the Templeton Center.
