Box Score

LaGrange, GA - The Lions hadn't allowed 100 or more points in their last 17 contests, but LaGrange used home-court advantage and shot the lights out en route to a 108-90 Great South Athletic Conference win.  Piedmont shot very well from the floor at 49-percent, but couldn't stop the Panthers' lethal attack, as five men reached double figures for the home team.  The visitors were down six early in the game before Michael Ross drained an outside shot to pull within one of the lead nearly five minutes into the action.

LaGrange distanced itself from Piedmont with a 13-2 scoring run to break the game open, going up 12 with under 11 minutes to play in the opening half.  With under eight to play before halftime, the Lions offense came alive.  The junior Ross ignited a 10-0 stretch for Piedmont, burying a trey and capping it off with a jumper to close within four points.  Sophomore Kevin Kubandi added a tri-fecta in the middle of the run.  Another bucket by freshman sensation Jessie Jenkins made it a three-point game, but LaGrange felt the heat and immediately responded with a 9-2 run to re-gain a double-digit lead with 3:19 on the scoreboard.  A Panthers triple with 20 seconds to go gave them a comfortable 48-37 lead heading into the intermission.

Senior Josh Haymore hit a couple early treys to begin the second stanza, giving Piedmont new life while shrinking the deficit back down to nine.  LaGrange pushed the offensive tempo and took a 15-point lead with 12 minutes left before the Lions called a timeout to regroup.  Five straight PC points coming out of the timeout made it a 10-point gap, and once again the Lions were gaining momentum.  The men kept within that range the remainder of the game, but couldn't fend off LaGrange's attack.  Haymore hit another three from downtown to bring it back to 11, but the Panthers kept pace the whole way.

Any chance of a Piedmont comeback was denied at the two minute mark when Joey Anderkavich threw down a dunk to put his Panthers up 99-84.  A 9-2 LaGrange run moments later sealed the deal, once again showcased by a jam, this time from Marcus Vaughn, to put LaGrange up 20 with 22 seconds to go.  Anderkavich finished with 20 points, while Vaughn notched a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds.  Their leading scorer was Kyron Anderson, who had a game-high 25 points.

Piedmont was led by sophomore Tyler Arnold and Jenkins, who each tallied 14 points and eight rebounds.  Haymore and Ross added 12 and 11 points, respectively.  Each hit three triples in the losing effort.  The Lions' loss drops them to 3-11 overall, and they return to the court at Toccoa Falls Saturday at 4:00 pm.  Piedmont won the first meeting this year between the local rivals, a 107-59 landslide win in Cave Arena.