By MONTE DUTTON

The Presbyterian Blue Hose – players, coaches, fans – took a deep breath after Wednesday night’s 71-70 win over UNC Asheville at Templeton Center.

With 1:54 remaining, PC (9-10, 2-2 Big South) led, 69-57. Jonah Pierce scored a field goal with 3:02 remaining. It was PC’s last.

The Blue Hose connected on just 8/18 free throws in the second half, particularly during the Bulldogs’ last-ditch rush. Three Pierce free throws (in four tries) were the Hose only points of the final two minutes. The Blue Hose led by as many as 13 points and for 33:17 of the game’s 40 minutes.

PC hit everything but free throws, at least up until the end. The overall shooting percentages were .542 overall, .625 from three-point distance and … .519 at the free-throw line.

For UNCA (8-11, 2-3), the corresponding numbers — .400, .462 and .833 – were the opposite.

Carl Parrish led the Blue Hose with a career-best 28 points. He popped 10/13 shots and all five triples. In the first half, the junior from Miami Gardens, Fla., buried all seven shots.

Pierce scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

UNCA also put up a pair of 20-plus-point scorers in Justin Wright (26) and Kameron Taylor (22).

Jaylen Peterson scored 11 points (with eight boards) for Presbyterian. Toyaz Soloman had 11 for Asheville.

Coming off back-to-back road losses, Ferrell said, “I thought our guys were intentional in their energy, their spirit, their intensity, their tenacity.

“I thought they played with intensity the entire game. Our guys deserved to win. Obviously, it wasn’t perfect, but I was never worried, even down the stretch.”

PC is 7-1 at home, 1-9 on the road and 1-0 on a neutral floor (Asheville, N.C., over Citadel). The Hose visit Gardner-Webb (2-17, 0-4) on Saturday afternoon at 2, then return home to play Charleston Southern next Wednesday night at 7.

Take a look at the stats here.

New PC head football coach Matt Rahl is quickly building a staff, hiring Mike Babcock as offensive coordinator and Michael Bruno as the defensive counterpart.

Babcock, who worked alongside Rahl during his 11-season tenure as head coach at McKendree University (Lebanon, Ill.) – comes to Clinton after spending the 2025 season as the assistant head coach and offensive line coach at Texas Permian Basin in Odessa.

The new offensive head has spent time at six schools, including his alma mater, UCLA, and Colorado. Babcock has 25 years’ experience and a head coaching mark of 58-52.

“To be able to have someone with over a decade of head coaching experience is going to be very valuable to me,” said Rahl. “Mike and I had a lot of success together offensively during our time at McKendree and I look forward to watching him lead the offense.”

Bruno has coached previously in the ACC, SEC, Pac-12 and Mountain West, and joins Rahl’s staff after coaching at Cal.

His other past destinations include UNLV, Louisville, Mississippi State and Dartmouth, working his way up the assistant coaching ranks over the past 16 years.

“I am thrilled to be able to turn our defense over to Coach Bruno,” said Rahl, “His experience at all levels of college football will be very valuable to our team. I’m excited about the passion and commitment that Mike brings to his teaching and the relationships that he forms with the student-athletes under his watch.”

Chester visits Clinton on Friday with the Red Devils still ranked at the top of the state’s Class 2A girls’ basketball teams and riding a seven-game home winning streak.

The Cyclones (4-7, 0-2 Region 3-2A) have lost three in a row on the road.

Clinton (17-1, 2-0) blasted Columbia, 60-23, in the Capitals’ city on Tuesday.  The Red Devils have won by at least 23 points on 11 different occasions this season. Columbia fell to 5-8 and 1-1.

The Red Devils have won nine of their last 10 games against Chester, which edged Mid-Carolina, 45-42, on the Cyclones’ home court.

Everything came up roses for Clinton against Chester in their previous meeting back in February of 2025, as the squad secured a 59-21 victory. Game time is 6:15 p.m., followed by the boys’ game.

Dontavius Glenn’s boys are up to 8-8 (2-0) after a 53-45 victory over Columbia (3-15, 0-2).

Laurens (10-7, 1-1), meanwhile, blasted Southside, 74-47, the Raiders’ third straight boys’ victory over the Greenville school. Quinton Watts led Laurens with 23 points and nine rebounds. Zakarion Simpson added 21 points and 12 boards.

Next up is Wren (9-9, 2-0), which visits the Raiders on Friday. The Hurricanes are coming off a 61-58 win over Fountain Inn.

The Laurens girls (12-6, 2-0) swamped Southside, 64-14, after leading 40-11 at halftime. The Tigers (0-11, 0-2) lost their 11^th straight home game.

The Laurens Academy girls won their 14^th game in a row, 51-22, over Oakbrook Prep (4-5). The Crusaders (15-1) have won those 14 games by an average of 23.5 points.

The LA boys (8-9) defeated the Knights, 49-46.

Wardlaw Academy visits Laurens Academy on Friday, with the girls’ game opening at 6 p.m.

Much is going on in my life. Things should lighten a tad by the end of next week. For now, I apologize for losing in a game of catch-up. I’ll soon have more time to devote to my modest craft.

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