Experienced and competitive. That is what people can say about the 2009-10 Presbyterian College men's basketball team. Head coach Gregg Nibert and his staff had decided to redshirt three of the team's top scorers from the previous season - Al'Lonzo Coleman, Josh Johnson and Pierre Miller - for the 2009-10 campaign. By doing so, the Blue Hose would be the youngest team in Division I with one redshirt-junior, two sophomores, a redshirt-freshman and five true rookies available to play every game.

Despite being young at the start of the season, the team progressed throughout the entire year and was a tough out during Big South Conference play. It was also able to go on the road and win one of the biggest games of the year in one of the most prestigious basketball events each year - the BracketBusters.

The record showed the team went 5-26, but the team's valiant effort in each and every game was not reflected in the final win total. Instead, it was measured by how competitive they were throughout the year and how experienced the team was at the end of the year. The Blue Hose had faced one of the toughest schedules in the nation, recorded a huge neutral site win in Las Vegas, dealt with adversity of gaining national publicity after the North Carolina game and showed that each and every individual put together something that represented Presbyterian College in the best light in all aspects of their lives.

The team had its largest come-from-behind victory in Division I history in an overtime win over VMI. That game, PC tallied 89 points to VMI's 75, which marked the third-most points scored in Division I play for the Blue Hose. It also marked the most points scored against a Division I opponent. That game, PC grabbed its Division I record 53 rebounds. The team also drained 23 free throws, which is the second most since 2007.

Two weeks later, the squad tied the mark in the 99-89 loss at UNC Asheville. However, PC notched 51 second-half points - its most in a single half against a Division I opponent while draining 13 three-point field goals en route to an overall shooting percentage of 49.2 percent on the night.

That night, PC drained 13-of-21 shots for a school record 61.9 percent clip from behind the arc. The team also dished out 11 assists on its 32 made buckets marking the sixth-most steals in a contest since moving to Division I.   

All throughout the season, the Blue Hose put up numbers people did not think they would. The 2009-10 squad left its mark in the program in every statistical category. In fact, PC ranked among the top five in 13 of 14 lists.

As a team, the Blue Hose were selected to play in the BracketBusters event at Jacksonville State. Since PC was not allowed to play in the postseason until 2011-12, the 31 games marked the most the team has played in since the start of the transition. In fact, the 2009-10 team ranked first compared to the last two seasons in scoring average (60.4 points), field goals made (694), field goal percentage (.426), free throw percentage (.696), defensive rebounds (687) and points (1,873).

Redshirt-freshman Jake Troyli had a solid campaign and was able to put up some big numbers by playing 983 minutes. His 144 made field goals are the second-most shots made in a single year. He was also productive on the glass, grabbing the second-most rebounds with 161 for a 5.2 average. Troyli tied the school record for blocked shots in a season (28) and games played (31). His 30 starts also tied for the tops. Troyli put together seven consecutive double-digit scoring games, which is the most for a PC player to begin a career since making the move to Division I.

Rookie Khalid Mutakabbir also tied the school record for games started and games played in addition to establishing PC's Division I best of 1,090 minutes played. After the roster was reduced near the end of the season due to an illness, Mutakabbir hardly ever came out of a game. He played all of four straight games and all but one minute of another in the closing weeks.

Freshman Travis Smith dished out a Blue Hose best nine assists in a game en route to a program-high 90. He was also among the single-season bests for points per game (8.1), three-point field goals made (34), three-point field goal percentage (.374), steals (30), games played (31) and games started (26).

Chase Holmes netted the second-most points in the program's Division I history with 421. His 159 field goals topped the charts. Holmes was also on the list for games played with 31 and minutes played with 909.

PC, which was slated to face six teams in the preseason top-25 and was scheduled to play its first six games of the year on the road, opened the season at Clemson. In the loss, rookie Zach Faircloth put up some numbers that were more than solid for his first game, showing his ability to produce. Faircloth, who earned the start, played 37 minutes and drained five-of-nine shots from the floor, including three-of-four from behind the arc. He led the Blue Hose with a game-high 14 points and recorded a double-double by grabbing 10 boards.

PC dropped a hard-fought game at Furman, losing by four. Holmes led the way with 19 points, but Troyli and Walt Allen also reached double figures.

The Blue Hose would then embark on a four-game road swing that took them to Illinois to face the Illini and Bradley before heading to Las Vegas for the remainder of the Las Vegas Invitational. Mutakabbir had 13 points and a team-high six assists against Bradley.

PC drained 50 percent of its shots against Southern, helping Nibert's team defeat the designated home team in the final game of the Las Vegas Invitational. In that game, Smith dished out a career-high nine assists as PC trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half before storming back to take the 71-69 victory.

In the home opener against Montreat, Troyli poured in a career-high 22 points and grabbed eight boards. Four student-athletes scored in double figures in the 68-50 win. PC dropped in 50 of its 68 points in the paint and recorded 14 second-chance points. The team hit 27-of-52 shots for 51.9 percent as well.

After two Big South Conference games, the Blue Hose hit the road again for a swing. The team opened the road trip at top-25 North Carolina. In the loss, Holmes netted a career high and tied the Division I record for the program with 29 points. PC was able to gain national exposure, which carried over to television as media outlets talked about the strides the team was making, about its future and about how tough the schedule was.

The Blue Hose then continued on to top-25 Ohio State. During that game, Walt Allen tied his then-career high of 13 points. Before returning home for the holidays, PC traveled to Dayton. PC fell by 19, but was within one at the break and pushed the Flyers to the brink before a late run helped the home team pull out the win.

Nibert's team returned from the holiday break and went to Marquette and Florida before heading into the bulk of its Big South slate.  In the game against the Gators, Kevin Davis shined. He was able to tie a career high with five assists while playing 23 minutes.

Having dropped two close league games to start the year, PC headed to Charleston Southern where they took the Bucs into overtime before losing. In that game, Jay Reynolds grabbed a career-high six rebounds.

Then, the team pushed regular season champion Coastal Carolina to the edge before losing by 14. The game also marked the first time that Mutakabbir had netted a double-double, accounting for 11 points and 10 rebounds.

A couple of games later, the Blue Hose would pick up their first conference victory with a 17-point come-from-behind win over the Keydets of VMI. After shooting just 27.6 percent in the first half, PC came out on fire in the final 25 minutes. In the second half, the Blue Hose made 18-of-32 shots for 56.3 percent and were able to push the game into overtime. In the extra session, PC drained five-of-six attempts and outscored VMI 20-6.

In that same game, rookie Ryan Hargrave came on strong, having his best performance of the year to that point. He earned his second career start, tallying five-of-nine shooting from the field for a career-high 12 points. Two games later, he helped PC push Gardner-Webb to the brink in Boiling Springs, notching 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Although the team would win just one more league game the rest of the season, prior to the BracketBusters, multiple individual accomplishments happened. Allen posted back-to-back career highs at Gardner-Webb and UNC Asheville, eventually netting 17 points on seven-of-12 shots in just 28 minutes against the Bulldogs.

After a tremendous home win against Charleston Southern that saw Travis Smith pour in a career-high 22 points, Jay Reynolds dropped in a career-high nine points at VMI on three-of-four shooting. He also grabbed five rebounds, just one off his career high.

At Liberty, PC connected on 53 percent of its shots. The Blue Hose lost by three, but had a chance to tie the contest at the buzzer. PC would take UNC Asheville to overtime the second time the teams met before losing by three.

Despite the close losses, the team kept pushing forward - and the hard work eventually paid off. After being matched up with Jacksonville State in the BracketBusters, the Blue Hose headed to Jacksonville, Ala., for the Saturday night affair. The young Blue Hose came out on fire, netting 14-of-21 shots to open the game, including hitting on their first five of the contest. The team built a 20-point advantage with 2:09 remaining in the first half and held on for a 59-55 win. It marked just the second non-conference road win in PC's Division I history.

Through all the games, PC learned how to play together and rely on each other. It also became more mature, competitive and experienced. With an abundance of talent returning for the 2010-11 season, the 2009-10 season set the stage for PC to go from being the youngest team in the nation to one of the most experienced in the Big South Conference.