CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian Blue Hose (5-2) los to the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (2-4), 79-75, in overtime at the Templeton Center on Wednesday afternoon.
Junior forward Jonah Pierce recorded his first double-double at PC with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Junior guard Marquis Barnett scored 13 points, dished out six assists and grabbed five rebounds. Junior guard Samage Teel scored 14 points and dished five assists. Senior forward Kobe Stewart scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF – Teel scored Presbyterian’s first five points. A three from the wing by senior guard Crosby James gave the Blue Hose an 8-6 lead with 13:35 on the clock. The Blue Hose maintained the lead for the rest of the half. With the Blue Hose leading 15-14 at the 8:52 mark behind two baskets from Pierce and baskets from Barnett and senior guard Trevon Reddish-Rhone Presbyterian pushed their lead to 23-14 three minutes later. After a three from Teel with 39 seconds on the clock, Presbyterian led 40-25. The Golden Eagles had a three-point play in the closing seconds of the half cutting the Blue Hose’s halftime lead to 40-28.
SECOND HALF – The Golden Eagles erased the Blue Hose halftime beginning the second stanza on a 15-0 run taking a 43-40 lead with 15:47 on the clock. The Blue Hose responded by scoring eight of the 10 points regaining the lead 48-45 after a layup from Pierce at the 12:29 mark. Presbyterian would eventually extend their lead to 59-48 after a layup from Stewart with 8:14 left in regulation. Tennessee Tech went on a 13-2 run tying the score at 61 at the 3:11 mark. A fast break layup by Barnett pushed the Blue Hose back in front. Tennessee Tech scored four straight points regaining the lead. A three from the baseline from Stewart gave the Blue Hose a 66-65 lead with 50 seconds on the clock. The Golden Eagles regained the lead with a layup from Jayvis Harvey with 25 seconds on the clock. Teel converted on a free throw tying the score at 67 with 16 seconds left. Tennessee Tech missed a shot at the buzzer so the game went to overtime.
OVERTIME – The Golden Eagles scored the overtime period’s first points with a three from Rodney Johnson, Jr. Pierce pushed the Blue Hose back in front, 72-70, with five straight points. Tennessee Tech regained the lead for good after scoring the next six points. A three from Barnett on the wing got the Blue Hose within one point, 76-75, with 19 seconds on the clock. Tennessee Tech closed out the game with three free throws over the final 18 seconds.
NOTES
· Presbyterian’s bench behind the scoring of Stewart, Pierce, James (6 points) and freshman guard Kory Mincy (8 points) finished the game with a 44-24 advantage in bench points.
· Pierce’s double-double marked the first double-double by a Presbyterian player this season.
· The overtime game was Presbyterian’s first overtime game since January 25, 2023.
· Barnett’s 13 points was his fifth double-digit scoring game of the season and the 24th of his career.
· Teel posted his sixth straight double-figure scoring game with his 14 points performance.
· Stewart’s 11 points was his 11th double-figure scoring game of his career.
NEXT GAME
The Blue Hose begin a two-game road swing traveling to North Carolina to play Elon this Monday, November 27 at 7 p.m.
