The Piedmont College men's basketball team was eliminated from the 2008-09 Great South Athletic Conference Tournament this evening by the score of 72-64 to tournament host and top seeded Maryville College in Maryville, TN. The Lions rallied furiously in the second half and had a chance to grab the lead with just under two minutes remaining only to see the upset bid fall short.

The home team jumped out with the first six points of the game and extended the margin to 17-7 with 12 minutes left in the first half. The Scots continued to build the marging leading by a frame high 16 points with less than four minutes remaining. PC answered with the final five points to close the half on a pair of jumpers and a free throw.

After JOSH HAYMORE hit a tri-fecta to open the second half the Scots posted a 9-2 run for a 46-32 lead with 16 minutes left in regulation. Piedmont came back with a 24-11 run to cut the lead to a mere one point over the next 11 minutes.

PC trailed by a single point with under 2:00 remaining and, out of a timeout, had a three-point shot attempt fall just short.  With the Lions trailing by two the home team connected on a three pointer and hit the free throw that followed to take a 68-62 lead. The Scots would connect on four more shots from the charity stripe to ice the game and advance to the finals versus second-seeded Huntingdon College.

Maryville hit 18-22 (82%) free throws while the visitors posted 10-17 (59%) which proved to be the difference as both teams hit 24 shots from the floor and six tri-fectas.

JOSH HAYMORE led the Lions with a career high 19 points including five three pointers. J.C. HEREBIA posted his fourth double double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds while TRACEY GARDNER added six points and eight rebounds and a game high three steals. 

PC finishes the season with an overall record of 8-18.