Two teams whose seasons are slip-sliding away face each other at Templeton Center on Wednesday night at 7.

Presbyterian (9-13, 1-6 Big South) has lost six Big South men’s games in a row. USC Upstate (6-14, 1-6) has, like the Blue Hose, lost an inordinate number of close games.

The Spartans are on a three-game league skid.

Trae Broadnax (14.0) and Justin Bailey (11.0) are USCU’s only double-figures scorers. Amir Langlais averages 6.0 rebounds.

It’s about the same with PC. The leading scorers are Marquis Barnett (14.0) and Samage Teel (13.1). Jonah Pierce’s rebounding norm is 5.2.

Following a 73-58 loss at Radford on Saturday, PC head coach Quenton Ferrell said, “We actually did some of things well that had cost us games earlier.”

The Blue Hose hit 13/18 free throws. They committed only seven turnovers and shot .368 from three-point range.

But … inside the bonus line, PC hit 12/35 (.343).

“We lead the lead in field-goal shooting,” Ferrell said, “and yet we shot [35.2] percent (overall against the Highlanders). Our inability to make two-point field goals is what cost us the game.”

As is typically the case, Presbyterian women’s basketball is playing in Spartanburg, also at 7 p.m.

The Blue Hose played a doubleheader at Radford, and the two schools will play another in Clinton on Feb. 10.

USC Upstate (11-9, 6-1) leads the Big South and has won three straight games. Presbyterian (12-10, 3-4) is coming off a 65-40 ambush at Radford.

Isabel West leads the Spartans in scoring with an 11.0-point average. Four more are arrayed from 7.7 to 9.1. Trinity Johnson – sound familiar? – averages 4.3 assists for the Spartans. The Hopkins native is a second-year graduate player at USC Upstate after averaging 11.1 points in her PC career.

A.C. Markham, who averages only 5.5 points, leads the Spartans in rebounding with a 5.2 average.

The PC scoring race is certainly tight. Bryanna Brady has played three more games, but she and Mara Neira both average 12.6 points. Tilda Sjokvist averages a mere 12.0.

PC also has four players averaging from 4.7 (Christina Kline) to 4.2 rebounds. Sjokvist averages 3.5 assists.

Presbyterian men’s tennis defeated a nearby Division II power, Lander, by a score of 4-3 on the Blue Hose home courts.

The Bearcats earned a national-tournament bid in D-II last year.

Behind four singles wins, PC (2-2) rallied after Lander won the doubles point.

Lander once led 3-0, but PC won the final four singles matches completed. David Mamalot won 6-2, 6-0 at No. 6 singles. Pedro Cardoso won 6-3, 6-4 at No. 5. Javier Matos won 3-6, 6-1, at No. 1. Denim Yadav clinched the match with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, win over Lander’s Markus Sorensen.

Presbyterian takes on Limestone on Friday at the Templeton Courts, beginning at 3 p.m.

Yes, baseball is around the corner.

Presbyterian opens with a four-game home series against Saint Peter’s. The Blue Hose play the Peacocks on Friday, Feb. 16, at 4 p.m., a Saturday doubleheader at 1 and a noon game on Sunday, all at Elton Pollock Field.

Last year the Hose were 21-34, 12-15 in the Big South Conference.

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