When it was announced last Sunday evening that the Presbyterian Blue Hose men’s basketball team was going to make a return trip to Daytona Beach to take part in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) starting Sunday, Sanford hoops fans were looking forward to seeing Seminole High School graduate Jonah Pierce make his return to Central Florida.
A year ago, Pierce and Presbyterian had come to the CBI and the Ocean Center and dropped a tough 82-79 overtime decision to Montana in the first round. Pierce, who was playing his first season with the Blue Hose after two successful seasons at Francis Marion, came off the bench to score 11 points, pull down five rebounds and recorded a huge blocked shot in just 16 minutes of action.
Pierce, who has grown to 6-foot-10 and 235-pounds, got off to an unbelievable start to the 2024-2025 season, coming off the bench and recorded the 1,000th point in his college career with a basket with six seconds left in the season-opener at Charlotte (November 4). The former Fighting Seminole went over the 1,000 points mark in impressive fashion scoring 22 points (shooting a perfect 11-for-11 from the field) in the game.
Pierce made his first start in the next game against Carolina Christian (Nov. 6) and knocked down all five shots he attempted and finished with 17 points, giving him a perfect 16-for-16 from the floor to begin the season.
The Sanford native became a full-time starter in Presbyterian’s fifth game of the season and had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds at Kennesaw State (Nov. 16). Pierce picked up his second double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds against host Stephen F. Austin (November 21) in the opening game of The Axe ‘Em Classic in Nacogdoches, Texas.
He then scored a game-high 20 points to go with nine rebounds in a 67-42 thumping of Youngstown State in the semifinals, but was then held to just four points and three rebounds in 14 minutes in a 71-61 victory over Monmouth in the Championship Game, suffering a hip injury that required season-ending surgery.
Pierce, who finished his season averaging 13.1 points, on 67.2-percent (41-for-61) from the floor, and 7-rebounds per game, is still traveling with the team and is expected to return under medical red shirt next season.
The CBI is a men's college basketball tournament created in 2007 by The Gazelle Group. Prior to 2020 teams competed on home courts. After the post-COVID pandemic revival, the tournament has been staged at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach.
The 2025 Purple CBI tips off with First Round games on Sunday. The Quarterfinal
Round is on Monday, followed by the Semifinal Round on Tuesday and the Championship Game on Wednesday.
ESPN2, ESPNU, and Flo Hoops will broadcast the games. Flo Sports will broadcast the First Round and Quarterfinals, while ESPNU will air the Semifinals and ESPN2 the Championship game.
Go to _ https://collegebasketballinvitational.com/schedule-2/ _ for the brackets and follow the Purple CBI on Twitter @CBITourney for updates and tournament results throughout the week.
Here is the schedule:
First Round – Sunday, March 23 (FloCollege)
Game 1 _ Manhattan vs. Incarnate Word, noon.
Game 2 _ Elon vs. Army, 2 p.m.
Game 3 _ Queens vs. Northern Arizona, 4:30 p.m.
Game 4 _ Illinois State vs. Presbyterian, 6:30 p.m.
Quarterfinals – Monday, March 24 (FloCollege)
Game 5 _ Jacksonville vs. Winner Game 1, noon.
Game 6 _ Florida Gulf Coast vs. Winner Game 2, 2 p.m.
Game 7 _ Cleveland State vs. Winner Game 3, 4 p.m.
Semifinals – Tuesday, March 25 (ESPNU)
Game 8 _ Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 4, 7 p.m.
Game 9 _ Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7, 9 p.m.
Final – Wednesday, March 26 (ESPN2)
Game 10 _ Semifinal Winners, 5 p.m.
