Quentin M. Reed – Sports Information Graduate Assistant

MISENHEIMER, NC – The Pfeiffer Falcons (4-7) men's basketball team fell to the Bluefield State Blues (3-10) on Tuesday evening by the score 81-75 as junior guard Andrew Guerrero led all Falcon scorers with 22 points as he shot 5-for-11 from downtown and 7-for-8 from the foul line.

In the first half the Falcons and Blues struggled on the offensive end as they traded leads but, Pfeiffer had the advantage as the halftime horn sounded, 32-29. Both teams struggled from the field while shooting at 36 percent for the first half.

The Blues jumped out to a 7-2 lead to start the game, but the Falcons answered with an 8-0 run of their own before taking an early lead 10-7  lead as center Silvere Aluko sparked the Falcons offense with two layups and two made free throws.

With 10:16 remaining in the first half, the Blues capped off a 7-3 run as Avery Holliday connected on two consecutive layups, giving them the small lead of 17-14.

The Falcons ended the first half on a 9-4 run and the 32-29 lead as Guerrero hit for six of the nine Falcon points in that stretch. Guerrero ended the half with 11 points.

Pfeiffer's defense contained Bluefield State leading scorer Mark Durgan to four points in the first half but in the second half but Durgan got hot as he scored 18 of his 22 points.

Durgan and Chas Harvey combined to make the first six of seven Blues' shots and jump out to a 45-43 lead in the second half.

With a 56-47 lead for the Blues and  8:12 remaining in the game, the Falcons made a run of 6-2 to cut away at the deficit and make it 58-53 after two free throws and a three point field goal from Mike Smith, but the Bluefield State quickly answered  with a three pointer by Derek Farr and jump shot by Harvey.

With less than nine minutes of play and down by nine points, guard Josh Calhoun went on to score 15 points as he and Guerrero tried to keep Pfeiffer close and rally the Falcons back to a five point deficit with 23 seconds left in the game.

But Durgan converted on his last seven free throws to seal a Blues victory, 81-75.

Pfeiffer's Smith was the third Falcon in double figures to end the night with 11 points.

The Falcons return to play at home on Thursday night in a non-conference matchup versus Carver Bible at 7:30 p.m.