The PC men’s basketball team was edged out by Davidson Saturday, February 19th in the Templeton Center. The Blue Hose were within 5 points of the lead with under a minute remaining, but Davidson knocked down 3 of 4 free throws to hold the Hose off and pick up the 71-65 victory.

Templeton was packed with nearly 2,000 fans in attendance for the ESPN Sears Bracketbuster event of PC vs. Davidson. With nearly 17 minutes left in the first half Davidson went on an 11-0 run to claim the lead over the Blue Hose. PC would cut that lead down to 2, but that would be the closest that the Hose would get to Davidson during the contest. Davidson went on a 14-3 run with seven minutes left in the first half which the Hose were never able to overcome.

PC was led by a career high 23 points from point guard Pierre Miller. Also contributing for the Blue Hose, was Khalid Mutakabbir with 12 points and a team high 5 rebounds.

Davidson had an impressive outing with 5 of its players scoring in the double figures. Nik Cochran led Davidson’s offensive attack with 12 points. The Wildcats also displayed excellent defense with three players: Jake Cohen, Clint Mann, and De’mon Brooks getting 5 rebounds apiece.

Davidson shot over 53 percent from the field while the Blue Hose shot on 51 percent. The Wildcats shot 8-20 from behind the arc while PC did much better shooting 7-15. Although, Davidson did have a 29-20 advantage in rebounds, they had a 13-10 deficit in turnovers.

PC will host VMI on Thursday, February 24th for its next contest. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 P.M. at Templeton Center.