REC CENTER – Point guard Marcus Ford (Wirt) has two speeds; fast and faster. With 4.9 seconds to play, Ford slipped past his defender at the exact moment that teammate Steve Polak (Clark) flipped a pass to the speeding point guard. Ford pulled up for a 12-footer that hit the square on the backboard perfectly and the ball dropped through the net as the buzzer sounded ending the game for a 76-75 thriller.“That takes guts and determination to drive like he did and hit that shot,” PUC Head Coach Mike James said.

The Peregrines (4-4) trailed 75-74 after Spalding University of Louisville, Kent. guard Chartrae’l Hall split a pair of free throws with 4.9 seconds left. The Peregrines had to go the distance on the court from the visitors end, which didn’t allow for an offensive set play, only some last second heroics.

Ford finished the night with 17 points hitting 7-of-8 from the field (.875). He also had three rebounds and three assists. Polak earned his second assist of the night on the last pass to Ford. Polak scored 14 points and hit 3-of-6 from the 3-point arc.

Top scorer for the Peregrines was Charles Cruz (Gavit) who was 10-of-13 (.769) from the field for a total of 26 points. The sophomore was two-of-three from the 3-point strip and four-of-five from the charity stripe. Senior captain Minuyard Wheeler (Wirt) added eight points, eight rebounds and three assists in the win.

Wednesday, both the men and women host Judson College. The Lady Peregrines (1-5) tip at 5 p.m. and the men follow at approximately 7 p.m.