By MONTE DUTTON

Presbyterian College played something akin to boomerang basketball at Templeton Center on Monday.

The Blue Hose women won by 68 points. The men lost by 21. The evidence suggests a disparity in the strength of the foes.

PC’s 113-45 victory over Warren Wilson College of Swannanoa, N.C., didn’t reflect much other than the Blue Hose’ massive superiority over the Owls. Four players scored in descending order. Allie Sykes pumped in 17 points followed by Aminata Tal with 16, Aretha Linger with 15 and Ja’Cia Cunningham with 14.

Pretty maids all in a row.  Sykes is from Burlington, N.C. Tal is from Saint Louis, Senegal. Linger is from Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Cunningham is from Milwaukee, Wis. Tal and Cunningham are seniors. Sykes and Linger are freshmen.

Put pins on a world map. The Blue Hose (1-0) shot .473 from the floor. The Owls (0-1) shot .333. game, any game, to be more diverse, the United Nations would have to build a coliseum.

“We just need to get some games under our belt, right? It’s a good start for us. Everybody got an opportunity to play, which is what we talk about as a team. Take care of business from start to finish. I think we came out with good energy and intensity,” Presbyterian head coach Tiffany Sardin said.

The Blue Hose led 30-10 after a quarter, 53-24 at halftime and 84-34 after three periods.

Tatyana “Moosie” Lewis, a graduate from Anderson, scored 22 of Warren Wilson’s 45 points. She was 10/18 from the field. The rest of the team was a combined 7/33.

“We take nobody lightly right now,“ said Sardin. “We play one game at a time. We talked to our women about just executing a game plan. We wanted to play to our level, not theirs.’

After her collegiate debut, Sykes said, “Even in practice, you have to step up. It’s faster and you can’t hide any weaknesses. Everything’s exposed at the college level. Working every day on those weaknesses is really important.”

Next up for the Blue Hose is a Thursday visit to Wake Forest for a 6 p.m. game.

Take a look at the stats here.

One would expect a team of Midshipmen to be cohesive in the opener, and the Naval Academy’s 76-55 victory over the Presbyterian men wasn’t as close as the final score.

Aptly, the Blue Hose couldn’t hit water from a boat. PC hoisted up 21 three-pointers and three splashed. The first didn’t fall until 5:36 remained in the game when Erik Taylor popped one.

Only Triston Wilson scored in double figures for PC (0-1). The sophomore from Miami, Fla., scored 13 points, standing out with 4/5 field goals – the only miss was a trey – on a night in which Presbyterian (0-1) shot .388 as a team.

Carl Parrish hit all four of his free throws but 1/12 his shots and none of his seven triples.

Navy (1-0) was physical and determined. Aidan Kehoe, a 6-11 bruiser from Mountvale, N.J., scored 19 points and was 9/11 from the field. Jordan Pennick scored 13 and Austin Benigni 11.

The Blue Hose hung in with the Middies on the boards, where Jonah Pierce grabbed 13 rebounds and Jaylen netted 10. The two combined for only nine points, however.

In the first half, PC shot hit 7/26 of their shots overall and none of their 12 from behind the arc. Not surprisingly, Navy led, 37-17. Midway through the second half, the Midshipmen stretched their lead to 32 points,

Presbyterian hosts Bluefield (Va.) on Wednesday and East Tennessee State on Saturday. Both games start at 6 p.m.

Take a look at the stats here.

Late in the first half of the women’s game, I was taking photos and looking at the most recent shot when an errant pass smashed into my right eye. I never saw what hit me, but it busted my eyeglasses.

Shortly I’m going to stop and buy some Super Glue. I think the glasses can be salvaged. They probably prevented a black eye.

Before the second half started, while the PC girls were warming up, not one, not two, but three players walked over to the media table to make sure I was all right. One said she threw it and was relieved when I said I was fine.

I was moved. I didn’t see that coming any more than the basketball that hit me.

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