By MONTE DUTTON

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — It wasn’t the shot selection. That was excellent. It was inaccuracy at the free-throw line that ran Presbyterian College’s Hose out of the Hercules Tires Big South Basketball Championships.
Shooting was where the rubber met the road. Or didn’t. It wasn’t the whole story, either. Fifth-seeded Presbyterian (14-18) trailed third-seeded Radford (20-12), 37-23, at halftime and outscored the Highlanders 27-10 to open the second half. Kaleb Scott’s bucket in the paint gave the Blue Hose a 50-47 advantage with 11:15 to play in regulation.

“We didn’t get the start that we wanted,” said PC head coach Quinton Ferrell, ever graceful and frequently ill-fated. “I’m really proud of my guys. We didn’t get the start that we wanted in the first half, but in the second half, we looked like that the team that we’ve been down the stretch. I can’t say enough about the character they showed.
“The game changed. In the first half, it was flowing a certain type of way. In the second half, they (the refs) started calling a lot of soft fouls. [Radford] started shooting a lot of foul shots. We didn’t get to the line. … That part was disappointing.”

The Blue Hose limited the Highlanders to seven field goals in the second half. Radford outscored PC by 20 points at the free-throw line. Radford hit 23/26, Presbyterian 3/12, but perhaps the Blue Hose got a bit out of practice. The officials whistled the higher seed for just 12 fouls. PC got 21.
But PC didn’t make what few opportunities it had.
The frustration was particularly reflected in the incredulous expressions of head coach Quinton Ferrell and seniors Kobe Stewart, who went out with 22 points (and made his two free throws) and Scott, who put in 14 points while missing all eight of his. Kory Mincy scored 13 and passed out eight assists.

Radford, which takes on top seed High Point in Saturday’s noon semifinal, shot .333 (7/21) in the second half while PC was shooting .654 (17-26). Beyond the arc, in the whole game, PC hit 8/19 (5/9 in the second 20 minutes). The Highlanders hit 5/19 triples.
It was easy to figure. Those damned free throws cost the Blue Hose dearly both in accuracy and frequency.
That was the general story. The moment when the game slipped away came with just 11 seconds to play in overtime and PC trailing, 64-61. Mincy passed up an open triple and instead passed to Stewart, who missed the shot and notably wasn’t fouled. Mincy fouled David Early, who converted both foul shots.

Seventeen of Stewart’s 22 points occurred after halftime.
“It was being more aggressive,” he said. “In the first half, my coaches told me I was too passive. I wasn’t being as aggressive as I usually am. That was a big emphasis at halftime: just being more aggressive in the second half.”
Radford placed four players in double figures. Jarvis Moss scored 16 points, T.J. NeSmith had 15, Early 14 and Truth Harris 11.

For a Presbyterian team that rose from eighth in the standings to fifth with four victories in its final five regular-season games, the end was annoying, agonizing and abominable.
“In the first half, I thought we played too slow, and we didn’t take advantage of the opportunities we had,” Ferrell said, adding, “In the second half, they couldn’t score.

“I don’t talk about officials … never … but in the second half, our guys were battling their tails off. (After halftime), we didn’t get to the bonus in 25 minutes. We tried the same number of 3-pointers, but we spent most of the time in the paint. I’m pleading my case to the officials the whole time.”
“It’s been a very long journey,” Stewart said, “but that journey’s been fun. It’s not about the end goal; it’s about the journey. It’s about the people in the locker room every single day. Being at Presbyterian College has made me a better person every single day. I’m very appreciative of what Presbyterian College has done for me.”
“I’ve gotten better. Kobe’s gotten better, and that’s been true of every single player, one to 15,” Scott added.

“Character wins out,” Ferrell said. “We got off to a really good start. … Then adversity came. Boom. Early. Adversity comes to every team in the country, but not every team handles it well.
“We don’t do what we did at the end of the season if my guys don’t have the right stuff inside of them.”
It was another losing season, but the Blue Hose left Asheville closer to being a winning program than they’ve been.
“Eventually, the sun will come out again,” Ferrell said.

Take a look at the stats here.

I love a college-basketball tournament. In January, when I spent most of my time lying in a hospital bed, I dreamed of being ready for this. Presbyterian played Radford in the Big South tournament. On Saturday night, Furman plays Samford in the Southern Conference. I swung by Asheville at 9 a.m. to pick up credentials. I got to Johnson City in time to find Freedom Hall and watch High Point pound Gardner-Webb.
Never has Gardner-Webb’s moniker, Runnin’ Bulldogs, been more apt. They ran too much. The Panthers played fast, too, but there was more method to the madness.

Words can ill express my appreciation for the assistance I’ve been getting from lifelong friends and acquaintances in regard to my recent health struggles. I am deeply touched at the concern of people I’ve known for most of my life.
The coming months will bring more change, and I don’t know yet what shape it will take.
From time to time, I have thought it a shame that people don’t often know what others think of them while they are alive. I’ve had a rough go of it recently, but I know that uothers respect, appreciate and support me.

Thanks for reading my stories, overlooking my flaws and indulging our differences.
My books, most of them fiction, are available at Amazon and on other bookseller sites. I’ve written two novels about stock-car racing, Lightning in a Bottle, and the sequel, Life Gets Complicated, both about fictional young driver Barrie Jarman.
Thanks for putting up with me.