With the snow falling outside the Piedmont College men's basketball team was red hot inside the Johnny Mize Athletic Center this afternoon as the Lions defeated visiting Huntingdon College in the team's Great South Athletic Conference opener by the score of 99-87. PC shot a remarkable 31-55 (56%) from the floor including 16-31 (52%) from behind the three-point line to seal the 12-point victory.
After Huntingdon held its only lead of the game with the first basket of regulation, the Lions went on 14-2 run over the next seven minutes for a 10-point advantage. The Hawks cut the lead to seven before PC 17-6 run over the next five minutes to take control of the game. The Lions led by as many as 20 before entering the half with a comfortable 52-36 advantage.
In the second half the Hawks opened with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to nine with eighteen minutes remaining. PC held its biggest lead of the game with seven minutes remaining in regulation at 88-67 and despite HC ending the game with a 20-11 run the Lions finished with a convincing 12-point victory.
With a balanced offensive attack that yielded five players in double figures, Piedmont was led by
JAKE BALDWIN and
MICHAEL RUBIO who both connected with 19 points apiece.
JAKE GREEN notched 17 points and a game-high five assists while
SAMUEL COPPAGE and
BRANDEN MAYWEATHER added 16 points respectively.
WESLEY PARKER also made his prescence felt with a game high 11 rebounds.
The Lions forced 19 turnovers and connected on 21-29 (72%) free throws while limiting its opponent to only 20 free throw attempts. 20 of PC's 31 baskets were assisted and 13 of the 19 turnovers were via steals.
The victory snapped a season-best four-game winning streak for the visiting Hawks and marked the Lions' sixth victory in their last seven contests.
The victory moves Piedmont to 10-7 overall and 1-0 in the Great South Athletic Conference. The men will return to action again on Saturday, January 26th as they travel to GSAC member LaGrange College in LaGrange, GA with tip-off scheduled for 4:00.
