JACKSONVILLE, Fla.  – Presbyterian lost any sense of infallibility but kept rolling along by winning two of three games at the First Coast Classic.

The Blue Hose cashed in Saturday’s final game, 78-75, over Northwestern (La.) State after falling, 80-66, to Maine on Friday. Presbyterian (5-1) began the North Florida-hosted tournament by defeating the host school, 81-69, on Thursday.

The Demons of Natchitoches, La.(easier to spell than pronounce), became the latest team to lose to Blue Hose they were undoubtedly expecting to defeat. Presbyterian, which was 5-27 last season, has already upended Vanderbilt, The Citadel and the two in Florida.

In the latest victory, junior guard Marquis Barnett led the Blue Hose with 18 points. Junior guard Samage Teel had 16 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Freshman guard Kory Mincy recorded his first double-digit game with 13 points off the bench. Senior guard Kobe Stewart added 11 points and eight rebounds.

Northwestern State (1-5) only played seven players, but three of them – Ryan Forrest (25), Braelon Bush (18) and Cliff Davis (14) – scored in double figures. Jamison Epps grabbed eight rebounds.

The Demons once led by 11 points in the first half and at halftime, 35-31.

Presbyterian took the lead for good after a layup from Trevon Reddish-Rhone and seven straight points from Crosby James, which included a four-point play, giving the Blue Hose a 46-42 lead with 13:06 on the clock. The Blue Hose increased their lead to 68-53 after Stewart converted on a jump shot in the lane with 6:39 on the clock.

Presbyterian maintained a double-figure lead for the next four minutes. With PC leading 74-64 with two and a half minutes left on the clock, the Demons went on an 11-2 run cutting PC’s lead to 76-75 with 21 seconds on the clock.

Jamahri Harvey converted on a free throw pushing the Blue Hose in front by two. With eight seconds on the clock, Jonah Pierce, who recorded three block shots in the game, made a game-saving block and grabbed the rebound, sealing the win for the Blue Hose.

Jonah Pierce led PC with 16 points, and Samage Teel added 11 in the Maine loss.

The Blue Hose return to Templeton Center to play Tennessee Tech on Wednesday at 2 p.m.

To see the Northwestern State stats, click here. For the Maine box, click here.

The women’s team was at Templeton on Sunday, falling 72-56 to East Tennessee State.

In a losing cause, Bryanna Brady scored a season-high 22 points while Mara Neira added 13 and Tilda Sjokvist 11.

An early eight-point run set the Buccaneers sail on a 19-14 edge after a quarter.

Brady scored eight straight points to start off the second quarter and give the Blue Hose a 22-19 lead. The score was tied, 28-all, at halftime.

East Tennessee State shook loose by scoring the first 14 points of the third quarter.

The lead was 15 by its end.

A Sjokvist three-pointer briefly got the Blue Hose within 11 in the fourth quarter.

The Blue Hose travel to Wilmington, N.C. on Wednesday for a 2 p.m. game against UNCW.

To take a look at the stats, click here.

Brooks Russ-Martin is the Pioneer Football League’s final Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in Presbyterian’s 31-27 victory over Morehead State.

The junior from Travelers Rest presented strong credentials. He stripped, recovered and returned a fumble 97 yards for a touchdown and later made a fourth-quarter interception that helped preserve the Blue Hose victory.

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