By MONTE DUTTON

Jaylen Peterson gave Presbyterian College just what it needed on Saturday afternoon in Asheville.

Two free throws with four seconds to play.

PC (13-14, 6-6 Big South) bounced back with a 58-57 road victory over UNC Asheville. The freebies gave Peterson 20 points and eight rebounds. Jonah Pierce had a double-double: 12 points and 10 boards. Carl Parrish scored 13 points. Triston Wilson added 10.

Three Bulldogs (12-14, 6-6) – Kameron Taylor (19 points), D.J. Patrick (14) and Justin Wright (10) – scored in double figures. Toyaz Solomon snagged nine rebounds. UNCA managed to hit only 3/15 triples and shot .407 (24/59) overall. The Bulldogs led for 31:41 of the 40 minutes, though the game was tied seven times with nine lead changes.

The Blue Hose had dropped four of five games entering the fray. It wasn’t shooting that nailed down the win. PC shot .434 (23/53) overall, .313 (5/16) from deep and .583 (7/12) at the foul line.

Wilson (6) and Parrish combined for 11 assists, and Peterson made three steals.

Longwood visits Templeton Center on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Take a look at the stats here.

CSU Fieldhouse is said to be a difficult place to play.

But damn …

Led by A’lahn Sumler’s 16 points, Charleston Southern (12-14, 3-6 Big South) upset Presbyterian, 84-67, on Thursday night in North Charleston. It may not seem such a shocker until one notes that the Buccaneers had dropped eight straight league games until the Blue Hose arrived.

Three others – Jesse Hafemeister (15 points), Lase Olalere (13 points) and Nate Brafford (11) – scored in double figure for the Bucs, who outrebounded the Blue Hose by 10. CSU outscored Presbyterian, 44-30, in the latter half, shooting .621 (18/29) to the Blue Hose’ .481 (13/27).

Senior Jonah Pierce stood tall for PC, scoring 23 points on 9/16 shooting. Carl Parrish added 14.

The Charleston Southern bench outscored Presbyterian, 40-6. The lead reached 19 points with 1:55 to play.

PC head coach Quinton Ferrell chalked the loss up to “poor defensive execution all night.”

He added, “We came out and tied the game early in the second half, but we started repeating the same mistakes. We never executed.”

PC did not have an assist in the first half.

“We let ourselves down down mentally by not being sharp,” Ferrell concluded.

Take a look at the stats here.

Baseball began with a bang, actually a couple, at PC, as the Blue Hose swept a pair of games against visiting Akron on Friday.

Emory Guilford belted game-winning homers in both games for PC, a three-run blast in the opener and a two-run dinger in the nightcap. Amman Dewberry collected four hits in game one.

The Zips bounced back with a sweep of Saturday’s twinbill, prevailing by scores of 8-7 and 9-2.

Dewberry crushed a two-run homer in the first game, giving PC a short-lived 3-0 advantage.

The Blue Hose visit Elon on Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Former Presbyterian College head football coach Tommy Spangler, unexpectedly and inexplicably replaced in 2021 by the unlamented Kevin Kelley, has decided to call it quits after 42 years in the profession.

Spangler served a year as a volunteer assistant at Clinton High School, then spent four years coaching defensive backs and special teams at Furman University.

Son Peyton is the head baseball coach of the Red Devils.

Tommy Spangler, who played for Vince Dooley at the University of Georgia, served separate stints as head coach at PC, 2001-06 and 2017-21, combining for a 54-52 record. After going 8-25 in the Big South after Presbyterian joined Division I, he was 4-3 in his final season during the COVID-shortened spring of 2021. PC did not enjoy another winning season until 2025, when Steve Englehart’s final team went 10-2 in the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League.

Presbyterian was in Division II during Spangler’s first stint, when he led them to a 42-24 record, reaching the second round of the playoffs after winning the South Atlantic Conference.

Clinton High School’s Region 3-2A basketball teams open the playoffs at home on Monday and Tuesday.

Landrum (15-11) visits the Clinton boys (17-8) on Monday at 6:30 p.m. The Clinton girls (25-1) host Liberty (7-17) on Tuesday at 6. Dontavius Glenn’s squad is tied for ninth in Class 2A; John Gardner’s girls have been ranked first all season.

Laurens (18-8) hosts Wren (11-15) in boys’ basketball on Tuesday.

The girls (15-11) visit Columbia to play A.C. Flora (15-8) on Monday.

Laurens’ football schedule, as usual, is tough. The addition of T.L. Hanna and Greenwood adds a couple perennial playoff teams, and what with the departure of Southside, the Raiders lose their lone victim of the past two seasons.

Aug. 21, at J.L. Mann; 28, at Clinton.

Sept. 4, SOUTHSIDE CHRISTIAN; 18, BLYTHEWOOD; 25, at Greer.

Oct. 2, WESTSIDE*, 9, at T.L. Hanna*; 16, EASLEY*; 23, at Fountain Inn*; GREENWOOD*.

Games at 7:30 p.m. Home games in ALL CAPS; *Region 1-4A.

Anaya Harris sank Presbyterian’s women’s basketball team with 22 points as Gardner-Webb (10-16, 7-5) defeated the Blue Hose, 62-50, on Saturday at Templeton Center.

Amani Williams and Yolanda Floyd each scored 10 points for the Blue Hose (3-22, 1-11), who lost their sixth straight and 19^th of their last 20 games.

Take a look at the stats here.

The Big South and Southern conferences are playing a two-year basketball scheduling series beginning in 2026-27 that will feature 18 men’s games and 18 women’s matchups played on selected dates each season. Schools will play one home game and one road game against different opponents, and the contests would be in addition to any current agreement in place between two institutions.

The men’s game dates are currently scheduled for Nov. 18 and 21, 2026, and Nov. 17 and 20, 2027, with the women’s dates slated for Nov. 21 and Dec. 2, 2026, and Nov. 20 and Dec. 1, 2027, unless both teams agree to a change of date.  Opponent location would not repeat from 2026-27 to 2027-28, although some teams may be matched with the same opponent from one year to the next (but not guaranteed to do so).

For the men’s annual series, opponents will not be determined ntil after the transfer portal closes but no later than May 31 prior to the upcoming season.  The Big South and SoCon offices will utilize predictive analytics to determine the best matchups heading into the season, including teams to be matched up primarily according to projected NET ranking for the upcoming year. Whenever possible, secondary consideration will be given to matching up teams according to geographic proximities.

For the women’s yearly series, opponents will be determined no later than April prior to a season.  Primary consideration will be given to match up teams to avoid air travel, with secondary consideration given to matching up teams according to NET ranking to create competitive matchups where possible.

 “This scheduling alliance underscores our continued commitment to strengthening basketball in the Big South Conference,” said Big South Commissioner Sherika A. Montgomery.  “Our basketball coaches and directors of athletics were united in the need for an intentional scheduling approach — one that balances competitive excellence with regional relevance.  The partnership with the Southern Conference enhances competitive opportunities, preserves regional rivalries and delivers quality home games that strengthen the Big South’s basketball profile while enriching the experience for student-athletes and fans alike.  This forward-looking initiative represents a strategic approach to scheduling and positions both conferences to further elevate their basketball profiles and competitive impact.”

For the men’s annual series, opponents will not be determined until after the transfer portal closes but no later than May 31 prior to the upcoming season.  The Big South and SoCon offices will utilize predictive analytics to determine the best matchups heading into the season, including teams to be matched up primarily according to projected NET ranking for the upcoming year.  Whenever possible, secondary consideration will be given to matching up teams according to geographic proximities.

For the women’s yearly series, opponents will be determined no later than April 1 prior to a season.  Primary consideration will be given to match up teams to avoid air travel, with secondary consideration given to matching up teams according to NET ranking to create competitive matchups where possible.

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