If you take a look at Khalid Mutakabbir, above, his face can tell you just how intense the last home games were.  The double header started off with PC Women playing first against the High Point Panthers.  The starting line up was #5 Dria David, #11 Chelsea Parker, #20 Devin Fothergill, #22 Shonda Burnside, and #51 Mariah Pietrowski, all seniors.

High Point put the first points on the scoreboard with a three pointer.  Fortunately, Dria David scored the first basket for our Blue Hose shortly after.  High Point, on the other hand, was determined to not let our ladies take the lead.  For the first ten minutes, the Panthers maintained the lead.  Even though we were losing, our Blue Hose kept the score gap small.  It wasn’t until there was 3:07 seconds left in the half that the Blue Hose took the lead.  This was thanks to Mariah Pietrowski’s two pointer, which brought the score to 24-23.  We maintained the lead for the remainder of the half, 29-23.  Pietrowski had the most game points with a total of 9.

The Blue Hose opened the second half great, scoring the first basket.  Our offense and defense had changed, strengthening both rebounds and making more shots.  PC was able to gain a 10 point lead and held the lead for ten minutes.  High Point was able to tie the score at 10:40.  The game tied twice more, the last tie being 64-64 with a minute remaining on the clock.  This last minute of the game was intense.  PC was able to once again take the lead with 28.6 seconds left.  For the rest of the game and many fouls later, PC held the lead.  Final score: 71-69.  Dria David racked up the most game points, a total of 20.

An hour later, the Men’s Basketball game started against the Citadel Bulldogs.  The line up was #1 Joshua Clyburn, #4 Austin Anderson, #5 Ryan Hargrave, #24 Khalid Mutakabbir, and #33 Eric Washington.

Blue Hose guys started off great, winning the tip off and scoring the first basket of the game.  Our offense was great, especially rebounds.  PC held the lead until 15:35, 5-4.  Just like in the girls’ game, though we were losing, the score gap remained small.  Our defense and offense were great, which paid off when Ryan McTavish’s two point shot brought Blue Hose into the lead, 14-13. For the next three minutes, the lead switched between teams.  Finally, with one minute on the clock, the Blue Hose gained the lead and ended the half with a score of 28-30.  Eric Washington and Khalid Mutakabbir held the most game points, both with 8 points each.

McTavish opened the second half with a 3 pointer.  Our defense and offense had strengthened even more.  They held the lead for the majority of the half.  The trade off?  We were racking up fouls.  We had fifteen fouls by the end of the half.  The Bulldogs were trying their hardest to take back the lead and almost succeeded.  With 13.1 seconds left, the score was 66-65 PC.  Fortunately, our guys were able to hang on to the lead.  The final score was 68-65.  Once again, Khalid Mutakabbir shot the most points, a total of 25.

This was also Senior Night, so here is our shout out to all the seniors! Dria David, Chelsea Parker, Devin Fothergill, Shonda Burnside, Mariah Pietrowski, Olivia Towers-Solis, Ryan Hargrave, and Khalid Mutakabbir, you have all been great!  We thank you for devotion to Blue Hose basketball.  You guys are going places and we know you’ll succeed in whatever you do!  You are a Blue Hose and never forget you have a home here.  Thanks for all the memories!

Photograph courtesy of Jada Suber