Presbyterian College played basketball twice, at the same time, 264 miles apart as the highways fall, on Wednesday.

The men were at Templeton Center, playing Tennessee Tech. The women were at Trask Coliseum, playing UNC Wilmington. Tips at both places went up a minute or so after 2 p.m.

The women nailed it down, 64-51. The men let it slip away, 79-75, in overtime. In both games, PC led for the great majority.

Three players for Tennessee Tech (2-4) – Jayvis Harvey (22), Rodney Johnson Jr. (21) and David Early (20) – scored more points than anyone for PC.

Both teams had four in double figures. Jonah Pierce led Presbyterian (5-2) with 16, followed by Samage Teel with 14, Marquis Barnett 13 and Kobe Stewart 11. Barnett dished out six assists, one more than Teel. Pierce was the game’s leading rebounder with 12,

Neither men’s team performed efficiently in the opening minutes. James’ three-pointer with 12:40 remaining in the half gave Presbyterian an 11-6 edge. They never lost the lead but weathered a cold spell. PC reasserted control in the final seven minutes.

The Blue Hose played stifling defense, holding the Golden Eagles without a field goal for almost five minutes. The team that had scored 11 points in the first 7:20 went to halftime with a 40-28 lead.

Meanwhile, in Wilmington, the PC women were building a 35-22 halftime lead. One point more.

For some reason, the second half began in Wilmington long before it did in Clinton. Or perhaps the wi-fi was balky.

In Clinton, Johnson hit a three-pointer 29 seconds into the second half to draw TTU within single digits. In Wilmington, the Blue Hose drew away by 16 in the first five minutes.

Tennessee Tech went off on a full-fledged rally. Early’s steal provided the possession – a foul intervened – that put the Eagles up 41-40 on Josiah Davis’s second-chance layup with 16:02 to play. In the first 5:29 of the second half, a 12-point Blue Hose lead turned into a four-point deficit.

The edge was stable in Wilmington, where the Blue Hose led the Seahawks 52-38 early in the fourth quarter.

Presbyterian regained the lead in the men’s game as Stewart assisted Pierce for a 48-45 edge. An 18-3 run took the Blue Hose to the final eight minutes leading 59-48.

Disaster ensued.

Over five minutes, 3 seconds, Tennessee Tech outscored Presbyterian 13-2. The game went to overtime tied at 67.

In the second half, the Golden Eagles outshot the Blue Hose, .536-.300, outrebounded them, 20-15, and hit 5/6 free throws while PC was hitting 6/10.

A Pierce three-point play (layup and one) put PC up, 72-70, 1:55 into the extra period, but the Eagles took the lead on an Early shot with 1:12 left and never trailed again.

Take a look at the men’s stats here.

The UNCW women pulled to within six points of the Blue Hose in the fourth quarter but never closer.

PC head coach Alaura Sharp stated “it was great to get a win on the road against a quality opponent.”

Bryanna Brady led the Blue Hose with 20 points, and Tilda Sjokvist added a season-best 18.

The Blue Hose posted season bests in both field-goal (.542) and free-throw (.889) percentage.

Take a look at the women’s stats here.

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