By MONTE DUTTON

Jonah Pierce is a redshirt senior from Sanford, Fla., on the Presbyterian College basketball team. A knee injury cost him most of the 2024-25 season. He is back with a vengeance hidden by a perpetual smile on his face.

Pierce didn’t beat USC Upstate, 86-77, by himself on Saturday, but he was fantastic. He took 13 shots and made 11. He grabbed 11 rebounds and passed out three assists. He and his teammates blasted the Spartans. They shot .553 (26/47) overall and .375 (3/8) from outside the three-point line. They hit 31/43 (.721) free throws, outrebounded the visiting Spartans by seven (31-24) and committed only nine turnovers while forcing 13.

“We had three days to prepare. We had a good game plan, and we executed it well,” Pierce said. “They trusted me to play the game the way I’ve been playing it. It works.”

It was Pierce’s seventh “double-double” (points and rebounds). He was at his best, and he wasn’t alone.

Guard Triston Wilson scored 23 points with three assists and two steals. Pierce’s frontcourt mate, Jaylen Peterson, doubled his double, too, pairing 13 points with 12 boards. Carl Parrish had 11 points and four assists.

“We did a really good job of staying true to our identity,” said PC head coach Quinton Ferrell. “We dominated the paint. That’s part of our identity. That’s what we talk about.

“I challenged Jonah (Pierce) and Jaylen Peterson to set the tone. Their motor, their grit, I thought it was at a high level for 40 minutes. Our perimeter guys kind of followed suit. Triston (Wilson) did an unbelievable job of getting in the paint … drawing fouls, creating shots for himself and getting other guys looks. All in all, I was really proud of the guys’ mentality.”

Learic Davis led USCU (8-8, 0-2 Big South) with 18 points, followed by Mason Bendaric with 17. Three Spartans fouled out, and no one grabbed more than four rebounds.

Presbyterian (8-8, 1-0) visits Virginia to play Radford (8-8, 1-0) on Wednesday night (7 p.m.) and Longwood (9-8, 1-1) on Saturday afternoon (3). Winthrop (9-8, 1-1) visits USC Upstate next Saturday.g

The reigning Big South champion, High Point, is off to a 14-3, 2-0 start. Charleston Southern (11-6, 2-0) is tied with the Panthers, followed by the Blue Hose and Radford, each 1-0.

Take a look at the stats here.

They were balling all day Saturday at Clinton High School, where Laurens County’s prep teams showcased their skills. Laurens Academy split the early games against Ware Shoals. Laurens swept Newberry in the middle, and the Red Devils took girls’ and boys’ games against Saluda.

All three girls’ teams were overwhelming. The Crusaders (11-1) opened at 10 a.m. by blasting Ware Shoals, 47-19. Laurens (9-6) dispatched Newberry (4-6), 41-27, and Clinton (15-1) blitzed Saluda (4-3), 51-19.

Ware Shoals (4-7) was the only visitor to win, edging the Crusaders (5-7), 55-54, in the first boys’ game. Garrison Vaughan led LA with 17 points.

Laurens (9-6) won its seventh straight game with a 54-47 decision over the Bulldogs (6-5) behind 17 points and Lairakos Brewster-Snow led the way with 17 points and three steals. Sophomore Cristian Jones’ bucket gave Clinton (5-7) a 53-52 win over the Tigers (5-4).

Retired South Carolina State football coach Oliver “Buddy” Pough is the guest speaker on Wednesday at 6 p.m. when the Laurens County Touchdown Club holds its annual banquet at The Ridge in Laurens.

Pough coached the Bulldogs 2002-23 and led them to MEAC titles in 2004, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’13, ’14, ’19 and ’21.

The TD Club will honor its all-county teams and FCA Character Awards , already announced, as well as the county’s player and coach of the year, both of which are to be revealed at the affair, catered by Lee’s BBQ.

The Player of the Year finalists are Clinton’s Javen Cook, Laurens’ Nehemias Fernandez and Caleb Hardy and Garrison Vaughan, both of Laurens Academy.

Tickets are available at the door for $20.

I’ve watched most of the Carolina Panthers games on TV, and I’m not that fired up.

Atlanta’s victory over New Orleans on Sunday enabled the Panthers to back into the playoffs with an 8-9 record. A tie-breaker put the Panthers in the postseason even though they fell to Tampa Bay (8-9) the day before.

Carolina is the only NFL playoff team with a losing record.

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