Trip Daily Blog | Tournament Website | Box Score

Staten Island, NY -- The Piedmont College men's basketball team wrapped up a six-day trip to New York with a tournament championship at the 9/11 Tournament of Heroes hosted by the College of Staten Island.  The Lions held off a late charge from Randolph College for a 69-67 championship victory.

Piedmont opened with an 8-2 start, powering inside by a trio of #J.C. Herebia# baskets. The lead bounced back to Randolph shortly after, as the Wildcats turned in a 10-2 run to take what was the first of their only two leads of the game, 12-10, at the 14:33 mark.

A Tyler Arnold three-pointer gave Piedmont the lead back at the 10:47 mark, 20-17, and from there, the Lions never relinquished the lead. Piedmont padded their first half lead by as many as 11 points, and took a nine point lead into the lockers (39-30).

The opening minutes of the second frame, belonged to Piedmont, however, and the Lions used a 24-18 advantage over the first 11:26 of the second period to build their biggest lead, 63-48. That's when Randolph made its charge.

Malcolm Nelson got a 15-2 run started that spanned less than four minutes to get Randolph to within two, 65-63. The run was bookended by a pair of baskets each from Nelson and Cameron Colquitt. After Herebia put Piedmont back up by five, 67-62, the Wildcats answered with consecutive baskets by Dylan Shiflett and a three-point play by Colton Hunt, knotting the score with 1:55 remaining.

It seemed Randolph was in control when on the ensuing possession, Herebia committed an offensive foul, negating a made basket, but Randolph quickly turned the ball over and a foul by Colquitt sent Piedmont's Samuel Coppage to the free-throw line with just 25 ticks left. The senior calmly sank both to give Piedmont the edge.

Piedmont  was led by Herebia's 16 points, and for his efforts was voted the tournament's Most Valuable Player.  Mike Chatman who finished with nine points and seven rebounds, was also named to the All-Tournament team. Tracey Gardner added seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Lions.  

"Piedmont is honored to be champions of the 8th Annual NYC Tournament of Heroes first and foremost because of what this event represents," stated PC head coach Lee Glenn.  "These were two good road wins for our program and more importantly it provided a meaningful experiece to our team. 

In the event's consolation game, tournament host College of Staten Island downed Colby-Sawyer College to earn third place. 

Piedmont, now 6-4, will return to action on Sunday, January 3 when the team returns to the friendly confines of the Johnny Mize Athletic Center as the Lions play host to Methodist University with tip off set for 4:00 PM.