Box Score

Greensboro, NC -- The Piedmont College men's basketball team fell behind early and could not catch up the hosting Pride of Greensboro College who handed the Lions their second loss in as many days 89-77.  The 12 point defeat is the first double-digit loss of the young 2011-12 season for PC who are now 1-2 after opening the season with home victory this past Tuesday over local rival Toccoa Falls College.

After taking a 4-1 lead two minutes into today's contest on a Kyle Lundberg layup, the Lions saw the home team start to click offensively as that three point Piedmont advantage at the 17:57 mark would be the only lead for the visitors in the first half.  Greensboro's lead would twice grow as large as 14 points over the first 20 minutes, but Piedmont used its three-point shooting to keep pace with the Pride cutting the home team's advantage down to six points on a three-point bucket from Michael Ross with just over a minute and half to play before the break.

Though Greensboro's Luqman Tijani would make a layup less than a minute later to put his team back up eight, Piedmont's Tyler Arnold responded with a jumper as just seconds remained before halftime as the Pride carried a 47-41 lead into the locker room.

In the opening minutes of the second half, Piedmont appeared to be righting the ship going on a 12-4 run over the first three minutes since the break to control a 53-51 lead at the 16:55 mark, the team's first advantage since the 17:57 mark of the first half.  However, a well placed timeout by the Pride helped slow the visitors' momentum as the two clubs began to trade shots for the lead over the next five minutes until Greensboro used a three-point bucket at the midway point of the second half to extend their lead back up to eight at 68-60.

Though a Jessie Jenkins jump shot with 8:21 left on the clock would make it a two-possession game, Piedmont then saw Greensboro go on a 14-2 run over the next five minutes that all but sealed the deal.  With the Pride's margin back up to a double-digit standing and just over two minutes and change remaining in the game, Piedmont could not get back in the contest watching the home team stake a 89-77 victory.

Freshman Chris Meeks topped the Lions in scoring with his 14 in the game on five of seven shooting as his 71% effort from the field added to his three steals for an effective performance.  Another youngster in Jessie Jenkins led the team in rebounds with five while a trio of Lions added four a piece including Meeks, senior Tracey Gardner, and freshman Richarson Myrthil. 

Jenkins was second on the team in scoring behind Meeks with his 13 points on four of six shooting from the field connecting on five of seven free throws as well.  Gardner was third on the scoring list with his 11 hitting all five of his attemtps from the field while four Lions tied for the top spot in assists with three each.

After dropping a pair of games on the weekend, Piedmont is now 1-2 overall.  The Lions will look to even up their season record when they travel to in-state rival Oglethorpe University this Wednesday, November 30th for a 7:00 pm evening showdown.