Box Score

Demorest, GA - The Lions fought hard but came up short against the nationally ranked Emory Eagles in Cave Arena.  Piedmont fell 95-78 despite being efficient shooting the three, outrebounding Emory and shooting a season-high 83-percent from the charity stripe.  Tyler Arnold continued his stellar play with a 19-point performance, highlighted by three tri-fectas and five rebounds.  The sophomore took good care of the ball as well, not committing a single turnover in 25 minutes of play.  Freshman Jessie Jenkins added 19 points of his own, while producing yet another double-double after hauling in 13 rebounds in the loss.

Piedmont proved it could keep pace with No. 5 Emory, who left Cave Arena a perfect 11-0.  The Lions got off to a quick 4-0 lead before the Eagles caught up.  The teams traded points for the next five minutes, and Piedmont took a one-point lead after senior Josh Haymore took it to the hole for two with 15:05 left in the opening half.  Emory went on a 7-0 run moments later and began to pull away until freshman Dylan Delaney tallied his lone 3-pointer of the evening, pulling the Lions within four at 27-23 midway through the half.

Emory answered right back with a three of its own to re-pad the lead, and hit 14-of-15 free throws in the half to take a 53-48 lead into the locker room.  The Eagles were nearly unstoppable, shooting a blistering 51-percent from the field with a few treys.  Austin Claunch, who led Emory with 23 points on the night, had 19 by halftime.  Jake Davis was also a culprit in the first frame, taking a double-double into the break with 11 points and 10 boards.

The Lions buckled down in the second half, taking Claunch out of the equation in the last stanza, as he tallied just four points the rest of the way.  Instead the men forced other shooters to win the game for Emory.  Defensively, Piedmont held the Eagles to 38-percent from the floor in the half while outrebounding them 29-19.  Freshman Richarson Myrthil contributed in that category with nine rebounds to go with his four points and two blocks.

Arnold came alive for the men with 14 points in the second half comeback attempt, but the undefeated EU team maintained its edge in taking the 16-point win.  Piedmont went on an 8-2 run early in the second to pull back within 10 points, but Emory again answered with a timely triple to stretch the lead.  Four of EU's next five baskets were from downtown, and suddenly it found itself up by 15 points again with under 14 minutes to play.

The Lions failed to connect on a shot for a span that lasted nearly 10 minutes, scoring their only points in that time from the line.  By the time Arnold got the men back on the board with a long trey, they still trailed by 21 with four minutes on the game clock.  The Lions posted a late 10-0 run, closing the gap to 16 with 2:30 to go. That would be as close as Emory would allow them to get, making a couple late buckets to seal the win.

Haymore finished with 12 points while sophomore Kyle Lundberg added 10 in the losing effort.  Emory committed just nine turnovers while forcing 21 on Piedmont.  Michael Friedberg and Davis also reached double figures for EU, tallying 17 and 15 points, respectively.  The Lions move to 2-9 on the season and return to action Thursday night at home again when taking on Pensacola Christian College at 7:00 pm.  Piedmont, who will look to snap its six-game losing streak, fell to PCC earlier this season, 92-75 on the road.