Sports Extra: PC women upset Upstate, 82-53
PC guard Aubrie Kerscht (00)
Freshman guard Aubrie Kierscht scored a game-high 18 points to tie her career best and lead Presbyterian to an 82-53 victory over USC Upstate Wednesday night at Templeton Center.
The Blue Hose (8-10 overall, 4-3 Big South) snapped a two-game Big South Conference skid with the victory. PC has scored 80 points or more in its last three games.
Kierscht, who leads the conference in 3-pointers made, went 4 of 12 from beyond the arc as the Blue Hose hit 12 of 31 overall. Senior center Bryanna Brady added 14 points, and freshman Christina Cline added 10 for PC.
Talia Rolden led the Spartans (7-10, 4-2) with 13 points off the bench.
The Blue Hose travel to Longwood at 2 p.m. Saturday. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
USC Upstate 61, PC men 60
Another game, another heartache for Presbyterian men’s basketball, which fell at USC Upstate’s Hodge Center Wednesday night.
The Blue Hose led by as many as 14 points (52-39) midway through the second half and held a 10-point advantage with 5 minutes to play, but the Spartans (9-9, 4-3) went on an 8-1 run to cut the deficit.
Upstate guard Jordan Gainey’s steal led to a layup by Khydarius Smith to cut the PC lead to 60-59 with 2:34 to play. Gainey hit a layup to finally put the Spartans ahead 61-60 with 54 seconds left in the game.
PC missed its final four field-goal attempts in the game’s final seconds, including a layup at the buzzer by Trevon Reddish-Rhone.
The loss was the sixth straight for PC, and two of those have been by a single point.
Freshman guard Jalen Forrest led all scorers with 18 points on 6 of 20 shooting, and Marquis Barnett added 15 for the Blue Hose (5-15, 1-6).
Justin Bailey scored 16 off the bench to pace Upstate.
PC is set to host Longwood at 2 p.m. Saturday at Templeton Center.
Crusaders, Red Devils sweep
The Laurens Academy boys and girls basketball teams easily handled visiting Newberry Academy Tuesday night.
LA 42, Newberry 24 (B): Center Jared Willard led the Crusaders (10-9 overall, 5-2 SCISA 1-1A) with a game-high 16 points and was one of three LA players in double figures. Buddy Baker added 12 points, while Andrew Codington chipped in 11.
LA 46, Newberry 15 (G): The Crusaders (10-7, 4-1) allowed a single basket in the first half, jumping out to a 20-2 lead by the intermission. Olivia Huck led the way with 19 points on 7 of 13 shooting. Gracie Hall added 9 points for LA.
At Chester, Clinton picked up a pair of Region 4-3A victories.
Clinton 56, Chester 41 (B): The Red Devils got a rare win on the road behind Kadon Crawford’s 17-point performance. Tushawon Richardson added 12 for Clinton (11-5, 2-1).
Clinton 46, Chester 26 (G): Clinton bounced back from a disappointing home loss to Woodruff with a 20-point barrage against the Cyclones (2-11, 0-4). Zakalia Redd led the Red Devils (11-5, 2-1) with 13 points. Malayja Thompson and Bryanna Belton scored 8 points apiece for Clinton.
Clinton is set to host Emerald in Region 4-3A action Friday.
Notes: Jamil Tucker, a 6-foot, 175-pound cornerback from Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, N.C. announced his commitment to PC football via Twitter Wednesday. . . . OL Jake Greule (6-6, 290) of Eldorado Hills, Calif. (Folsom High) also announced his commitment this past weekend. PC hosted a handful off commitments Saturday. They attended the PC women’s basketball game on their visit.
