By JIM WALKER

Tribune Sports Editor

PEDRO — The only thing consistent about the Rock Hill Redmen is their inconsistency.

Riding a rollercoaster every game, the Redmen were able to finish the ride on the up side as they held on to beat the Portsmouth Clay Panthers 53-52 Saturday.

“We’re still looking for consistency,” said Redmen coach Bob Wilds. “We went up and then let them come back. The key was just giving them one shot.”

Rock Hill had an 8-point lead heading into the fourth quarter only to score a mere four points — all from the foul line.

Will McCollister’s two foul shots with less than a minute to play gave the Redmen a 53-52 lead and then the defense kept the Panthers from scoring.

McCollister had 16 points and eight rebounds to lead the Redmen (2-1). Devin Darby also had 16 points while Andy Knipp had 14points and four rebounds.

Trey Wilds had a solid all-around game with nine assists, four rebounds and four steals.

Nathan Burchett led Clay (1-3) with 14 points and Cody Delotell scored 10.

Darby scored 11 of his points in the first quarter as Rock Hill bolted to a 17-7 lead.

McCollister scored seven points and Knipp six in the second quarter but Clay managed to cut the deficit to 32-26 at the break.

McCollister and Knipp scored four points each in the third quarter as Rock Hill went up 49-41.

Ports. Clay 7 19 15 11 = 52

Rock Hill 17 15 17 4 = 53

PORTSMOUTH CLAY (1-3): Chase Hiles 0 0 0-0 0, Cody Bussler 4 0 0-0 8, Cody Delotell 4 0 2-4 10, Jon Valentine 3 1 0-0 9, Chandler King 1 1 0-0 5, Nathan Burchett 4 1 3-4 14, Josh Porter 2 0 2-2 6, Max Graham 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 3 7-10 52. Fouls: 22. Fouled out: Burchett.

ROCK HILL (2-1): Jonathan Schwab 1 0 0-0 2, Drew Kidd 0 0 0-1 0, Will McCollister 5 0 6-9 16, Shane Russell 0 0 0-0 0, Devin Darby 3 2 4-6 16, Trey Wilds 1 0 0-0 2, Mitchell Patterson 0 1 0-2 3, Andy Knipp 7 0 0-1 14. Totals: 20-42 10-19 53. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: None. 3-point goals: 3-11. Rebounds: 2 offense, 22 defense = 24 (McCollister 8, Wilds 4, Knipp 4). Assists: 16 (Wilds 9). Steals: 7 (Wilds 4). Turnovers: 15.