CLINTON, S.C. — A 12-1 St. Thomas burst to start the second half proved too much for Presbyterian College on Monday night, as the Tommies won the men’s basketball season opener for both teams 87-78 at the Templeton Center in Clinton.
The Blue Hose trailed only 38-36 at the break. They had led as late as the 6:01 mark of the first half, when Iverson King hit a 3-pointer to make it 27-24, before the visitors closed the half on a 14-9 run. The second-half surge put St. Thomas ahead 50-37 with 15:21 to go.
Presbyterian kept chipping away. Back-to-back 3-pointers from E.J. Smith and King trimmed a 12-point deficit to 61-55, and a Smith layup made it 64-59 with about seven and a half minutes left. St. Thomas answered by scoring eight of the next nine points, and the Blue Hose got no closer than seven the rest of the way.
Triston Wilson paced Presbyterian with 19 points, six assists, six rebounds and two steals. Jaylen Peterson added 18 points and seven rebounds, and Smith matched him with 18 off the bench while going 7 for 11 from the floor and 4 for 5 from deep. The Blue Hose scored 34 points in the paint and got 30 from their reserves.
Tim Franks led St. Thomas with 24 points and six rebounds. Jeremy Lorenz and Hayden Tibbits scored 16 apiece, with Tibbits perfect on eight free throws.
Presbyterian (0-1) visits Georgia on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m., the first stop of a two-game road trip. St. Thomas (1-0) plays at Minnesota the same night.
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