The Piedmont College men's basketball team advanced to the Great South Athletic Conference championship game this afternoon with a 75-74 victory over LaGrange College. The Lions retook the lead for good with 22 seconds remaining and shutdown the Panthers last second shot to move on to the championship game.
The #2 seeded Lions will take on top-seeded Maryville College tomorrow, March 1st with tip-off scheduled for 4:00. PC now stands at 14-12 overall and will compete for the school's first-ever Great South title in less than 24 hours.
In a game that featured 10 lead changes and eight ties the Lions jumped out to a 7-0 advantage in the first three minutes as senior JAKE BALDWIN connected on a pair of jumpers and a three-pointer. PC extneded its lead to 20-11 before the Panthers went on an 18-8 run to retake the lead at 29-28 with five minutes remaining.
The teams traded the lead four times in the final five miuntes. With the score tied 36-36 MICHAEL RUBIO hit a jumper off a pass from JAKE GREEN to take a 38-36 advantage into halftime. The Lions forced nine turnovers and converted them into eight points in the first frame.
In the second half LC went on a 15-4 run through the first six minutes to take a 51-42 advantage. The Panthers held the largest lead of the game at 57-47 before the Lions responded with 24-10 run over the next six minutes highlighted by three forced turnovers and six JAKE GREEN points.
LaGrange took its final lead of the game at 72-71 before SAMUEL COPPAGE calmly knocked down a pair of free throws and a Baldwin jumper with the assist going to Green. After the Panthers converted the front end of a one-and-one and got the offensive rebound the PC defense forced a missed shot that found the waiting arms of Baldwin as time expired.
The Lions forced 23 turnovers for the game and shot an impressive 14-16 (88%) from the charity stripe. Despite being outrebounded 37-24, PC connected on seven shots from behind the arc and recorded 14 steals.
Rubio led five teammates in double figures with 21 points and a game high five steals. Coppage added 15 points while Green chipped in with 10 points and a game high six assists. Baldwin was the Lions top rebounder with seven while Branded Mayweather added 11 points and a team high three tri-fectas.
