Box Score

Memphis, TN -- The Piedmont College men's basketball team collected its second win of 2010-11 with a 74-65 victory earlier this evening over Rhodes College in the Crowne Plaza Thanksgiving Classic. Four different Lions reached double-digit figures in the scoring column as Piedmont surged ahead in a tightly contested contest that opened tournament play for both schools.

In a first half that featured four ties and nine lead changes, PC's Michael Ross would put the visiting team up 31-30 connecting of one of his five three pointers on the night with just over two minutes remaining the first half.  Junior Josh Haymore's layup with just 30 seconds left in the half helped Piedmont go up 33-30 as the Lions carried a three-point advantage into the break.

As play resumed in the second half, back-to-back threes from Ross and Haymore would further PC's lead to an eight point margin, the largest lead either team had up to that point.  Rhodes continued to battle climbing back to within two with under five minutes to play in the game, but a pair of layups from Tracey Gardner and Daniel Lampl sparked Piedmont to cling to its second half lead on the way to claiming a 74-65 decision on the road.

Grabbing a team-high eight rebounds on the night, the sophomore Ross also led all Piedmont scorers on the night with his 24 points coming on nine of 15 shooting in the field.  Ross' five three pointers marked a season high for the new Lion addition who is currently averaging 21.3 points per game in his first year wearing the green and gold.

Juniors Haymore and Gardner each added 14 points to the winning effort as the two combined to shoot over 50% from the field.  Gardner also snagged seven boards while newcomer Will Skaggs was the fourth Lion to reach double-digit scoring figures tallying 13 points of his own to go along with his four helpers and six rebounds.

Depsite the impressive offensive numbers that the Lions put up on the evening in Memphis, it was Piedmont's defensive effort that put the distance between themselves and Rhodes especially in the second half.  The home team managed only a 14.3% shooting percentage from downtown in the second half compared to PC who hit over 44% from beyond the arc.

The victory improves Piedmont to 2-1 on the season while also giving the team a win in the Crowne Plaza Thanksgiving Classic.  The Lions will continue touranment action as the squad faces the University of Mount Union in an afternoon game on Sunday, November 28.  Tip-off is set for 2:00 at Rhodes College.