PC Falls on the Road at Jacksonville State
|
|
The Presbyterian College men's basketball team overcame a 14 point second half deficit, cutting it to three late, but Jacksonville State used a 20-4 run the final eight minutes to secure the 67-48 win tonight in the Sears BracketBuster game in Jacksonville, Ala.
PC dropped to 12-15 overall and 1-2 in Sears BracketBuster games. The Gamecocks improved to 12-17 and claimed its first win over the Blue Hose in the last three tries.
The Blue Hose were led by Al'Lonzo Coleman's (Charlotte, N.C.) 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Khalid Mutakabbir (Suwanee, Ga.) chipped in 11 points. Freshman Will Truss also contributed six points in his seven minutes of play. It was Coleman's ninth double-double of the season.
After shooting 31.8 percent from the field in the first half, PC finished the game with a 38.1 shooting percentage, while Jacksonville State hit 23 of 50 total shots for a 46 shooting percentage. JSU had three players in double digits, and was led by Brian Williams with 20 points.
PC struggled to find the basket to start the second half, while JSU continued its run from the end of the first half and outscored the Blue Hose 6-1 in the first four minutes. Coleman's free throw at 16:17 gave PC its first points of the half, and Mutakabbir then made good on a three point play at 15:53 to make the score 34-27 in favor of the home team. The Gamecocks continued to find the basket and extended their lead to 14 points, 39-25, off of a jumper at 14:16
PC continued to battle, and after Coleman found Jay Reynolds (Marysville, Tenn.) in the lane for a layup, the Blue Hose went on an 8-0 run to bring the score to 41-35 with 10:51 left. A minute later, PC used a three pointer from Tyler Deihl (Woodstock, Ga.) followed by a layup from Coleman to cut JSU's lead to five points, 45-40 with 8:47 remaining. The teams traded baskets, but after being fouled on a fast break Eric Washington (Columbia, S.C.) sank both free throws to bring PC within three points, 47-44.
Jacksonville State used six straight points from Darion Rackley, who finished the game with 17, to break back open the lead and never looked back as they extended the lead to 21 points in the final two minutes off an 18-0 run. Ryan McTavish found the basket at the 1:51 mark to end a six minute long scoring drought for the Blue Hose, but the Gamecocks came away with the 67-48 win, outscoring PC 20-4 the final 7:44.
In a tough first half that saw the Blue Hose hit seven of 22 field goals for a 31.8 shooting percentage, Jacksonville State took an early 2-0 lead to start the game before a pair of free throws by Coleman tied the score. The Gamecocks went on an 8-2 run to take a 10-4 lead with 15:04 left in the first half, but the home team remained in control over the next five minutes, maintaining a nine point lead.
PC used an 8-3 run, including back-to-back three pointers by Mutakabbir, to cut the lead to four points, 20-16 with 7:38 left, but JSU pushed the advantage back out to six at 6:45 off one of two free throws.
Clyburn hit a jumper in the lane to bring the score to 23-19, and after a JSU free throw Mutakabbir then hit two free throws to close the gap to only three points with 1:51 remaining in the half. Jacksonville State, however, forced a turnover and used a 4-0 run in the last minute to take a 28-21 lead into the locker rooms at half time.
The Blue Hose return to Big South Conference action on Thursday when the travel to Radford for a 7 p.m. matchup.
The game will be broadcast on WLBG 860-AM with the pre-game show beginning at 6:30 p.m. The broadcast will also air on www.GoBlueHose.com.
