Box Score | Photo Gallery

Demorest, GA -- In the final game before the holiday break the Piedmont College men's basketball team fell to visiting USA-South member Ferrum College by the score of 61-53. In a matchup that featured 10 lead changes the visitors outscored the Lions by eight in the final five minutes en route to the victory.

With both teams playing stingy defense Piedmont jumped out with six of the first eight points in the first five minutes. The Lions would reach the same lead 15-11 with six minutes left in the first half before the Panthers ended the frame with a 9-5 advantage, knotting the score at a slim 20-20.

Ferrum connected on the first six points to open the second period and held a 30-24 lead with15 minutes left in regulation. The Lions answered with an 11-0 run over the next five minutes taking advantage of three turnovers. The Panthers chipped away at the deficit and finally used an 8-0 spurt over the span of two minutes to take control of the game.

With the Lions forced to foul down the stretch the visitors hit 9-10 shots from the charity stripe to seal the victory in the final three minutes. The Panthers held the slight edge on the glass 35-32 but hit 7-13 (54%) from behind the tri-fecta.

Senior Michael Rubio led the Lions with 16 points including 3-6 from behind the arc. #J.C. Herebia also reached double figures with 11 points while Peter Ricks# chipped in with nine.

PC, now an even 4-4 overall, will break for 10 days before returning to the court again on Tuesday, December 29th as they travel to the 8th Annual 9/11 Tournament of Heroes in New York, NY. The men will take on tournament host College of Staten Island at 7:30.