Box Score

Rome, GA -- The Piedmont College men's basketball team fell to in-state rival Berry College earlier this evening dropping a ten point road decision to the Vikings.  The Lions had their hands full after a damaging first half run by the host Vikings led to a 18 point halftime deficit which eventually kept PC from grabbing its seventh win of 2010-11.

In first half action, the two squads kept pace with each other throughout the first few minutes though Berry would hold an early four point margin at the 16:50 mark.  After a Kevin Kubandi jumper cut the home team's lead down to two, the Vikings would begin to seize control of the momentum going on a 11-0 run over the next five minutes taking a 44-26 lead to the halfway point.

After the intermission, second half action began like how the first half ended as Berry went on 12-4 run to push their lead over 20 points.  Although the Lions would fight back pulling to within 14 on a Kubandi three-point play, the Vikings held on for the eventual 81-71 win over visiting PC.

Kubandi led the way for Piedmont in the scoring department tallying 17 points while shooting six of 13 from the field and four of five from the free throw line.  After a quiet first half, the Atlanta native exploded offensively in the second half where he scored 14 of his 17 points on the night.

Also having a big night for the Lions was junior Tracey Gardner who led the squad in rebounding for the eleventh time this season pulling down eight boards while collecting 10 points on the evening.  Gardner shot over 50% from the field and was one of four Lions in double-digits as sophomore Michael Ross and senior Daniel Lampl added 14 and 10 points resepctively.

Although the Lions were outshot on the night by their opponent 45% to 39%, it was on the glass where the difference could be seen between the squads.  The Vikings outrebounded visiting PC 43 to 28 as Berry picked up 12 offensive boards alone.

The loss drops Piedmont to 6-8 on the season while the team falls to 2-3 against teams from the state of Georgia.  The Lions will look to snap a two-game losing skid when they host Rust College on Sunday, January 9.  Tip-off is set for 4:00 in Cave Arena.