By MONTE DUTTON

It’s so ridiculous.
I can’t remember which movie or TV show that expression came from.
Presbyterian College plays many men’s basketball games against teams it is unlikely to beat. Miami last week. South Carolina next week. They pay good money, for one thing.
The Blue Hose have a better chance against those schools than Virginia of Lynchburg (0-12) did against them on Wednesday afternoon in front what few folks were available to get the word.

The Dragons had a coach. Not a head coach. A coach. Donald Culpepper dressed as if he were about to preach a sermon, but there were only four on the bench to hear it.
As expected, PC won, 116-53, behind seven double-figure scorers at Templeton Center on Wednesday afternoon.
Kobe Stewart led the Blue Hose with 20 points. Stewart also grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists. Kobe Stewart collected a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, Jamahri Harvey and Iverson King scored 14 points apiece.

Presbyterian (7-6) shot the lights out, and the new ones are quite bright. The Blue Hose shot .642 from the floor, .444 from behind the arc and .815 at the foul line. In marked contrast, VUL’s corresponding numbers were .327, .333 and .65, respectively
Jerome Mitchell led the Dragons with 12 points, and Jacob Newman added 10.
The Blue Hose forced 19 turnovers and committed nine, outrebounding VUL, 47-19.
PC scored the game’s first 12 points and led, 59-25, at halftime.

Manhattan visits Templeton Center for a 1 p.m. Saturday game.
Take a look at the stats here.
Turnovers sank the PC women in San Juan, P.R., against Morgan State on Wednesday afternoon.
The Blue Hose committed 33 of them. It was the overriding difference in the Bears’ 54-41 victory. PC’s leading scorers, Morgan Boyd and Kishyah Anderson, each scored eight points.
Presbyterian (1-10) shot .351 from the floor. Morgan State (6-7) shot .316. PC hit .250 from long range. Morgan State hit .182. At the free-throw line, the Blue Hose shot .423, the Bears .485. PC won on the boards, 35-33.

It was those turnovers. The Blue Hose only forced 12. The Bears outscored the Blue Hose in every quarter.
Eight PC players committed multiple turnovers, led by Aminata Tal.
Paige Kindseth pulled down 10 rebounds to go along with seven points for the Blue Hose.
Nia Green led the Baltimore, Md., school with 14 points, followed by Gabrielle Johnson with 12.
The Blue Hose take on Montana State on Thursday at 10:30 a.m.
Take a look at the stats here.

The Laurens County Touchdown Club announced its all-county team. The 29-member team consists of 16 players from Clinton High, seven from Laurens High and six from Laurens Academy.

It was a superb season for two of the county’s three prep teams. Clinton won the state Class 2A championship. Laurens Academy’s eight-man team reached the finals in SCISA.

The player and coach of the year are to be announced at the TD Club’s annual banquet on Jan. 8 at The Ridge in Laurens.
OFFENSE
QB Tushawan Richardson,CHS
RB Garrett Murphy LA
RB Javen Cook CHS

RB Denari Lee Jackson LDHS
RB Nehemias Fernandez LDHS
RB D.J. Clark CHS
WR Devin Swindler CHS
WR Brayden Patterson LDHS
OL Hack Hardy LA
OL Tre Aiken CHS
OL Rion Gordon CHS
OL Cal Pitts CHS
OL Hunter Lawson CHS
H-back Rhett Gilliam CHS
ATH/QB Ethan Collins LA
DEFENSE
DL Demyjah Watts LDHS
DL Clayton Lawson CHS
DL Garrison Vaughan LA
DL Anthony Candelas LA
DL Jaydon Glenn CHS
LB Ja’Maur Williams LDHS
LB Luke Young CHS
LB Kason Copeland CHS
DB Javaye Suber LDHS
LB Brett Young CHS
DB Chris Boyd CHS
DB Maison Tinsley CHS
DB Caleb Hardy LA
DB Austin Boyd CHS
Kicker/Punter: Brock Franklin LDHS
Lakelands FCA Character Award Winners
Nathan Bell Laurens Academy
Noah Garrett Clinton High School
Noah Roberts Laurens District High School
Warner Bush Presbyterian College
Finalists for Player of the Year
Garrett Murphy Laurens Academy
Tushawan Richardson Clinton High School
Javaye Suber Laurens District High School

Clinton state championships, fewest points allowed:
(1.) 0, 1972 (Hanahan)
(2.) 0, 1985 (Middleton)
(3.) 6, 2024 (Barnwell)
(4.) 6, 1978 (James Island)
(5.) 6, 1975 (Myrtle Beach)
(6.) 6, 1939 (Lake View)
(7.) 7, 1987 (Marion)
(8.) 7, 1977 (James Island)
(9.) 26, 2009 (Myrtle Beach)

Clinton girls’ basketball coach John Gardner described it as “a game that set offense back 30 years,” but the Red Devils got their groove in the second half of a 38-20 victory over Emerald.
The game was an 8-8 tie at halftime.
Kemaria Shelton scored 10 points. Other scorers were McKenzie Clark 9, Emma Patterson 6, Bryanna Belton 5, Mylayja Thompson 5 and Jakia Burton 3.

The Red Devils split on Wednesday night at Newberry.
The girls improved to 6-1 with a 44-22 victory over the Bulldogs. Thompson led the Red Devils, who led 25-6 at halftime, with 10 point, followed by Patterson with nine.
Tushawan Richardson scored 27 points, but Newberry managed to win the boys’ game, 49-43. J’shon Nabors added 16 points. Clinton is 2-2 thus far.

Newberry visits Clinton on Monday night.

“If I’d known I was going to live this long, I might have taken better care of myself.” – Willie Nelson, 91
I’ve added a verse to my song, “Go Big Red.” I plan to sing it at The Lumberyard’s jam session on Thursday, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Wellpilgrim.com is adjusting to the winter chill. The bounces of the balls are truer, and it’s all be indoors.

Times are changing. I am aware of how irrelevant what I do for a living has become and thus how unimportant my efforts are. The readers appreciate them, but there aren’t enough of them. I doubt there ever will be again.
It’s what I do. It’s what I know.
Support the advertisers. They are all fine people who want their businesses associated with honest coverage of local sports.

In the off chance you’d like to read my novels and other books, they’re available on Amazon and many prominent bookseller sites.

You can read them on your phones and other devices for a modest cost. I make a bit more if you purchase the actual books, but what I mainly want is for folks to read them.
The most researched of my novels is Cowboys Come Home, set at the end of World War II when two Texans come home from the Pacific and find the world has changed back home, too.
Photo galleries are posted on Instagram @furmanatt and @laurenscountysports.
Thanks for putting up with me.