By MONTE DUTTON

The early part of basketball season is often full of ups and downs. The goal is to round into shape for the conference season.

On Saturday afternoon at Templeton Center, Presbyterian College took a step in the right direction with an 80-72 men’s victory over Morehead State.

The Blue Hose have been keelhauled by the Navy, land-locked East Tennessee (there are Buccaneers in the mountains) and flown out to California, where they almost beat Sacramento State, led much of the way but lost to California and been predictably lopsided by UCLA. Wofford slipped by PC last week.

And … the Hose have feasted on a Whitman’s Sampler of tasty chocolates.

It’s all part of the plan. Quinton Ferrell has a blend of reliable veterans and promising newcomers. I always liken it to adding spices to a pot of chili. Little things – a little more salt and hot sauce, a couple cans of beans, don’t leave out the cumin – mean a lot.

Five players, led by Carl Parrish’s 18 points, scored in double figures. Triston Wilson scored 17, Jaylen Peterson 12, and Jonah Piece and Khalon Hudson chipped in 11 apiece.

That’s a tasty mix in the crock pot.

“They’ve got a good team and made some plays,” said Ferrell, “but I thought it was more about us, where our defense was.

“We’ve got to build from this one and keep it better offensively. … We just have to keep finding ways to get better.”

The Blue Hose doubled up (44-22) the Eagles in rebounds, led by Pierce’s 16. It was his fourth “double double” of the season.

PC had a whole lot of doublin’ goin’ on.

Wilson scored eight of Presbyterian’s first 11 points, staking the Blue Hose to an early 11-6 lead. Then Morehead State scored six straight points, putting the Eagles in front by one point. The lead exchanged hands a couple of times. After PC took a 15-14 lead, Morehead State scored eight of the next 10 points, taking a 22-17 lead with 10:24 on the clock.

Behind a three-point play from Hudson and a layup by Pierce, the Blue Hose tied the score at 22. Presbyterian (6-6) took a 27-24 lead after two free throws from Hudson with 6:47 on the clock. Morehead State scored 13 of the next 22 points, taking a one-point lead, 37-36. Parrish made a three-pointer to put the Blue Hose back in front at the 1:08 mark. Morehead State scored the final five points of the half, taking a 42-39 l

Behind a three-point play from Pierce and a three from Wilson, the Blue Hose regained the lead early in the latter half, 45-42. Morehead State connected on a three-pointer, tying the score at 42.

A Peterson dunk off a Pickett inbound pass put the Blue Hose back in front for good. With eight minutes on the clock and PC leading 58-56, the Blue Hose went on a 10-0 scoring run over the next three and a half minutes to take control of the game with a 68-56 lead. Hudson, Parrish and Pickett scored during the run.

Morehead State cut Presbyterian’s lead to eight points four times over the final four minutes of the game. Wilson scored PC’s final two points on a fast-break dunk with nine seconds left. Morehead State scored the game’s final two points with two seconds left.

George Marshall led Morehead State (3-7) with 16 points. Anouar Mellouk and Josiah LeGree each added 13. The Blue Hose forced 17 turnovers and committed only 10.

It was difficult to ascertain how the Eagles kept it close. Presbyterian outshot them overall (.509-.448) but not from three-point range (Morehead, .429-.350) or at the free-throw line (.733-.633). The Blue Hose outperformed the Eagles in points in the paint (32-28), second-chance points (15-4) and on fast breaks (20-6).

“We just played well as a team,” said Wilson. “We were working on the right path.

“I stay down, stay consistent, stay working.”

The Blue Hose don’t play again until Wednesday, Dec. 17, at East Carolina in Greenville, N.C., at 7 p.m.

Take a look at the stats here.

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