The Piedmont College men's basketball team led late only to see the host Panthers of Ferrum College finish the game with a quick spurt to down the Lions 75-66 this afternoon in non-conference action in Ferrum, VA.  Ferrum finished the game on an 11-1 run to earn the nine-point victory.

Ferrum, who was picked to finish second in the USA South Athletic Conference's preseason coaches poll, jumped out to an early lead and led by as many as 10 midway through the first half.  The Panthers would take a 37-30 lead into intermission. 

Piedmont came out of the locker room firing with a quick 8-1 run to start the half and tied the game after only 1:45 of play.  The Lions continued to stretch the run to 15-3 on a jump shot by MICHAEL RUBIO and led 45-40 less than four minutes into the second period. 

After a few exchanges of the lead, Piedmont would grab its last lead of the game at 65-64 with 3:53 remaining in the contest.  From there, FC sprinted to the victory with an 11-0 run highlighted by nine points from Marcus Mayo. 

On the evening, both teams shot 44% from the floor but Ferrum gained the advantage on the glass (42-43) and at the free throw line.  The Panthers made 17-20 of their charity attempts while the Lions connected on only 5-12 marking a season-low. 

J.C. HEREBIA led Piedmont with a game-high 26 points while Rubio finished with 16 points on 3-5 shooting from behind the three-point line.  Freshman TRACEY GARDNER posted a solid game with a team-best eight rebounds. 

The road game wrapped up the Lions' tough non-conference road schedule as the team will face its final pre-conference tune up at home Tuesday, January 13 versus local rival Toccoa Falls College with tip off set for 7:00 in PC's Johnny Mize Athletic Center.  The game will be part of the team's Coaches vs. Cancer Suits & Sneakers initiate as PC fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game.