Box Score

Atlanta, GA -- The Piedmont College men's basketball team saw Oglethorpe Univeristy come out the gates with hot shooting hands as the Lions fell for the third time in as many games with a 76-62 loss at the home of the Stormy Petrels.  The in-state rival of PC shot over 60% in the first 20 minutes of tonight's action to turn a seven point halftime lead into the eventual 14 point victory, but it was Piedmont's inability to connect from behind the arc that cost the squad in the end as the Lions shot just over 18% from downtown compared to 47% for OU.

After Piedmont gained its only lead of the night with a Jessie Jenkins layup at the 18:32 mark of the first half, the hosting Stormy Petrels took over from that point forward.  Sam Purdy's jumper just 15 seconds after Jenkins' two-pointer handed OU a 5-4 lead that continued to grow though the Lions used 13 second chance points compared to just two for Ogelthorpe to keep the score tight throughout the first half.

Despite Dylan Delaney connecting on a three-pointer with just over a minute to go until the break to make it a four point game and put PC within reach, OU responded with a three of their own from Alec Pitts with only 12 seconds remaining to keep the home edge to seven points at half 35-28.  Following the intermission, the Stormy Petrels started to build a cushion pushing their lead to double digits several time over the opening minutes of the second half before doing so for good with Christian Molinet's jumper at the 14:13 mark.

Piedmont's poor shooting from behind the three-point arc just became too much to overcome as the Lions equaled their first half downtown shooting percentage with a 18% rate in the second half as well.  Meanwhile Oglethorpe's 48% mark from three-point land set the difference between the two squads as the Stormy Petrels continued to drain shots from outside in the second half en route to the 76-62 victory.

Leading the Lions in scoring for the first time since opening night a little over a week ago was freshman Jessie Jenkins who tallied 18 points on seven of 11 shooting from the field with all his seven made baskets coming inside the three-point arc.  Also four of six from the line, Jenkins tallied the first double-double of his collegiate career and the first such performance for any Lion in 2011-12 with his ten rebounds on the night.

Another youngster was next on the score sheet as Dylan Delaney scored 14 points with six made field goals of 15 total attempts while he also added a pair of rebounds to the effort.  Though it was Jenkins who led the team with his ten boards on the evening, veteran Tracey Gardner was back to cleaning the glass as his usual self collecting seven rebounds against OU. 

Third on the scorers list as one of just three Lions to score in double figures earlier tonight was another freshman in Richarson Myrthil who posted 13 points on 67% shooting from the field in 18 minutes of play.  Senior Josh Haymore added eight points to the effort hitting all three of his tries at the free throw line while also adding three rebounds to his night.

With the loss, Piedmont falls to 1-3 overall having dropped now three straight.  The Lions will look to right the ship when they host Free Will Baptist Bible College this coming Saturday, December 3rd for a 3:00 pm tipoff in the Cave.