Piedmont College entered the championship game of the 2007 NC Wesleyan Roger Taylor Invitational with hopes of defending its title from a year ago but tournament host NC Wesleyan College outdueled the Lions in the 101-83 victory this afternoon in Rocky Mount, NC. The Bishops capitalized on 13 three-pointers en route to the 18-point victory.

NC Wesleyan jumped out to a 25-13 lead in the first eight minutes of the game. The Bishops led by as many as 18 points and entered the half with a 57-39 lead after shooting better that 51% from the field.

PC found themselves trailing by a game high 72-49 mark with just over 13 minutes remaining. The Lions pulled as close as 11 at 78-67 on a three-pointer by SAMUEL COPPAGE at the 6:58 mark. Wesleyan, however, countered with a 12-1 run over the next two minutes that effectively put the game out of reach.

For Piedmont JAKE BALDWIN led five Lions in double figures and finished with a game-high 36 points and eight rebounds while JAKE GREEN netted 11 points and recorded seven assists. For their efforts both Baldwin and Green were named to the All-Tournament Team.

MICHAEL RUBIO added 13 points while WESLEY PARKER and SAMUEL COPPAGE added 10 points apiece. The Lions shot 31-69 (45%) from the field but could only convert on 4-23 three-pointers compared to its opponent's 13-33.

Piedmont will return to action on Wednesday, December 5th with a non-conference home game versus Sewanee-University of the South at 7:00 PM in PC's Johnny Mize Athletic Center.