Box Score

Demorest, GA - A 22-point Piedmont lead was erased with a furious comeback by LaGrange, who squeaked out a 81-77 win.  The forgettable loss was also a game to remember, as senior Josh Haymore set a new school record for career 3-pointers made late in the second half.  Haymore drained seven tri-fectas to overtake the top spot in school history, with 202 treys made in a career.  He already owns the single-game mark of eight on two occasions, and the single-season record of 81 which he set a year ago.  However, his magical night of 23 points wasn't enough to keep the Panthers from coming back to upset the home crowd.

The Lions scored first and never looked back in the opening half.  Haymore made good on three triples in the first three minutes before sophomore Tyler Arnold got hot from outside as well with back-to-back threes, pushing the lead to 16 before LaGrange called a timeout.  The Lions' ensuing 6-0 run out of the break was negated by two tri-fectas from LaGrange just 20 seconds apart.  Haymore's fourth trey with five minutes to go in the half kept Piedmont up 18 on the Panthers.  But LaGrange went on a 19-5 run to bridge the gap to just four points prior to freshman Dylan Delaney sinking three free throws before the half.  The Lions' 22-point lead was altered to just seven going into the locker room.

The team that shot 50-percent from the field in the opening half cooled coming back out for the second stanza.  Add to it the monster game by LaGrange's Kyron Anderson, who poured in 31 points, and Piedmont had more than it bargained for.  Twice early on in the second, the Panthers were within a single point of taking the lead, but the Lions held strong until LaGrange tied the game from the charity stripe with 8:41 left.  Immediately, Haymore hit another tri-fecta to put Piedmont up again.  Moments later though, the Panthers used a 8-0 run to complete the comeback and take a five-point lead.

Arnold hit another trey, followed by freshman Jessie Jenkins' free throws, to tie the game at 68 with 4:57 remaining.  Arnold continued to be clutch, coming up with another game-tying basket to knot the game at 70 for the last time.  LaGrange scored the next eight points before Haymore's epic 3-pointer from the corner gave the team new life.  The senior got a quick pass in the corner next to his own bench, hitting the long-distance shot with hands in his face to break the school record that he had tied minutes earlier.

Piedmont had another shot when Delaney hit two freebies to bring the deficit back down to two with 22 seconds left, but even after LaGrange missed a pair at the line, Piedmont was unable to get off a clean game-tying shot, and a couple of desperate attempts missed until the Panthers corralled the rebound and were fouled immediately.  The away team made good on two shots to take the 81-77 win over the Lions, who now fall to 5-17 overall and 1-4 in Great South Athletic Conference play.  As a team, the Lions dialed from long distance 12 times, led by Haymore's seven and Arnold's three.  Arnold ended with 14 points and 11 rebounds as part of his double-double, while Delaney also chipped in with 12 points.  Piedmont travels to Maryville Saturday for a 4:00 pm game.