In Winston-Salem, N.C., Presbyterian was thinking upset for a half, but Wake Forest clobbered the Blue Hose in the second half of a Thursday matinee at Lawrence Joel Veterans Coliseum, won by the Demon Deacons, 91-68.

Presbyterian (7-7) trailed by only three points (40-37) at halftime, but Wake’s shooting numbers – and pretty much all others – soared in the latter half.

Led by Andrew Carr’s 21 points and nine rebounds, Wake Forest (8-3) shot .607 (17/28) in the second half, outscoring PC, 51-31. The Deacs’ lead topped off at 29 points with 5:11 to play.

Presbyterian’s leading scorer, junior guard Samage Teel, played at Winston-Salem State last season. The Greenville, N.C., product scored 17 points, connecting on 6/13 shots, 3/6 of which counted three.

Jamahri Harvey added 14 for the Blue Hose, who also got eight rebounds from Jonah Pierce. Marquis Barnett led the team with three assists.

Only six players scored for Wake, but five scored in double figures. In addition to Carr, Hunter Sallis popped 20 points, Kevin Miller 19, Elton Reid 14 and Cameron Hildreth 11.

PC led for only 12 seconds after Harvey scored five straight points to put the Hose up, 10-8, with 17:22 remaining in the first half.

It was tied when a Miller three-point play at the end of the half put the Deacons up, 40-37, at halftime.

When the latter half opened, PC scored the first three points to tie it again, but Wake Forest scored the next 13 points and raced away.

Johnson & Wales visits Templeton Center for a Dec. 30 game against the Blue Hose that starts at 2 p.m.

Take a look at the stats here.

The PC women didn’t have to rue what might have been. They got drubbed from start to finish by Eastern Washington, 92-51, in the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic in Las Vegas, Nev.

Eastern Washington (7-3) managed to polish off PC without having a single player score more than 12 points. Milly Knowles and Jamie Loera each added 10. Ten others scored, six of them chipping in between seven and nine.

Presbyterian’s leading scorer was Bryanna Brady with 10 points. Four others scored between seven and nine.

The Eagles savaged the Blue Hose, 45-25, on the boards. Same story: Loera and Ella Gallatin led with five each. Ten others had them. Mara Neira led PC with four.

Eastern Washington outscored Presbyterian in every period: 26-11, 28-14, 23-19 and 15-7. The Eagles shot .545 from the floor, .480 from beyond the arc and .615 at the free throw line. The Blue Hose’ corresponding percentages were .327, .267 and .619, respectively.

Presbyterian (8-5) takes on Wright State (Ohio) on Friday at 5:30 EST before flying home.

Take a look at the stats here.

Steve Englehart dipped heavily into Florida, where he formerly coached, in releasing the names of six early signees for the Presbyterian College football program.

Five are from the Sunshine State, and all six – three running backs, two offensive linemen and a wide receiver – play on offense.

Four of the newcomers are from high schools. Two are transfers.

Englehart’s second Presbyterian team went 4-7 after the record in the previous two seasons (under Kevin Kelley and Englehart) was a combined 3-19.

PC’s first phase of recruits signing letters of intent – the school does not provide football scholarships – consists of:

Quory Ambrose, OL, Oakleaf, Orange Park, Fla.

Jameel Carter, OL, Homestead, Fla.

Denim Edwards, RB, Christopher Columbus, Miami, Fla. (transfer from Navy)

Jamari Haynes, WR, Plantation, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Marlon Leslie, RB, Pleasantville, N.J.

Antonio Wright, RB, Melbourne, Fla. (transfer from Gannon)

Laurens Academy began a home round robin of games, girls and boys, on Thursday with games involving the Crusaders, Newberry Academy, Oakbrook Prep and Curtis Baptist.

Afternoon games on Thursday pitted Newberry and Curtis in games, girls first, at 2 and 3:30 p.m. LA and Oakbrook were scheduled for 5 and 6:30.

The LA girls overran Oakbrook, 48-17, and Olivia Huck put on a show, scoring 31 points. She hit 10/16 field goals (3/4 from long range) and 8/8 free throws.

Eight other Crusaders scored, headed by Sadie Bruyere with five points.

The Knights turned the tables in the boys’ game, winning 56-40, behind 20 points from Nazhuri Biggar, who was 7/8 from the floor and 6/7 were three-pointers. Chris Wilkins added 11, but he was a mere 4/11.

All eight of Braydon Burke’s field goals were from long distance, but he needed to launch 19 shots, only one of which was from inside the arc.

Buddy Baker scored seven points, Jared Willard five, Garrett Murphy three and Garrison Vaughn 1.

The Spartanburg school broke away with an 18-3 second quarter.

On Friday, the Crusaders play Curtis Baptist in the afternoon, and Newberry Academy takes on Oakbrook in the evening.

Newberry High, meanwhile, is at Clinton on Friday evening, and Fountain Inn visits Laurens.

Clinton split home games on Wednesday night against Southside of Greenville.

Bryanna Belton’s 17 points led the girls’ team to a 32-22 decision over the Tigers.

Head coach John Gardner said the Red Devils “controlled the game all the way” and complimented the defense, in particular.

Other Clinton (6-3) scorers were Mylayja Thompson with six points and a quartet – Symiah Floyd, Nah’shia Wright, Zakalia Redd and McKenzie Clark with two apiece. Ry’Daijia Mars chipped in a point.

Southside raced to a 53-35 decision in the boys’ contest. Clinton (3-4) has dropped three in a row.

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