Box Score Demorest, GA - The Piedmont College men's basketball team looked to be in for a long night after the opening tip in this evening's match up with local rival Toccoa Falls College who went on a 15-3 run to start the first half.  However, Piedmont was able to overcome the deficit on the way to an 83-74 victory in its home opener for the 2013-14 season on White-Out the Cave night in the Johnny Mize Athletic Center.

Falling behind 10-0 over the first three minutes of tonight's showdown with the Eagles, first-year Head Coach Greg Neeley never looked worried as his Lions absorbed the early blows from Toccoa offense who rarely missed in the opening minutes.  The Lions would be down 15-3 before starting to climb out of the hole keyed by a Jessie Jenkins put back which spurred a 9-5 run from Piedmont as Jenkins would have four of those Lion nine during that stretch.

Another Jenkins layup would cut the margin down to six points at the 11 minute mark though Toccoa responded with a Josh Barrett lay in just 18 seconds later as Barrett would score 21 for the Eagles on the night.  Quietly, Neeley's Lions snuck back into the game after trailing big early continuing to chip away at the margin on an Alton Honors II jumper with 7:06 to go before a Jenkins jumper brought the lead down to an unthinkable two at 23-21 Toccoa.

Piedmont's Austin Thompson then came right off the bench and drained a three-point bucket a little over a minute later to give Piedmont its first lead of the night at 24-23 with a Safari Smith layup extending the lead to three less than 30 seconds later.  The game would see no more lead changes in the first half though three ties would occur in the stalemate that sat at 31-31 after 20 minutes with the two teams headed to the locker rooms.

The second half was a fireball of action as Honors II scored the first points of the second period only to see Toccoa tie it back up at 33-33 on a jumper from Donovan Smith.  The two would stay within striking distance of each other for the next 10 minutes before Chase England's three-pointer at the 9:03 mark of the second half set the Cave Crazies just that as Piedmont took a 56-53 lead.

Youngster Peyton Luken, who had hit a three just prior to England's downtown try to tie the game at 53 all, then stepped up to hit another from deep answering a Toccoa Falls jumper to put the lead at 59-55 just before Alton Honors II gave the Crazies their highlight reel of the night.

With 7:16 remaining, Honors II checked back in off the bench and looked well rested when he took a Chris Meeks steal and took off for a crowd-inciting dunk that shook the walls of the Johnny Mize Athletic Center.  Honors II's moment seemed to deflate any momentum the Eagles had still remaining from the first half surge as PC would never again relinquish the lead on the way to an 83-74 victory at home over local rival Toccoa Falls.

Alton Honors II was Piedmont's scoring leader for the second time in three games this season tallying 20 points on seven of 13 shooting from the field including a 50% mark from beyond the three point arc.  Also hitting on three of his four tries from the free throw line, Honors II pulled down seven rebounds including five on the defensive end to have an electric night in front of a raucous crowd at the Cave.

Close behind was Jessie Jenkins, former D3hoops.com South Region Rookie of the Year, who scored 18 points on seven of 12 shooting while leading the team with his eight rebounds, a mark he was joined at by two of his teammates in freshman Chase England and returner Chris Meeks.  Meeks' eight boards were split evenly on either end as he fought to keep several Lions possessions alive as Piedmont tallied 14 second chance points on the evening. 

England's performance was impressive as well for a young man making his first collegiate appearance in Cave Arena though the Cave Crazies quickly were behind the freshman from Oakwood who scored on two of his first three tries from the field including a two-point basket that represented Piedmont's first points with 16:09 remaining in the first half.  Scoring 19 points on the night with eight of those coming from the free throw line, England also connected on a three with just over 13 minutes to go in the opening frame to cut the Toccoa lead down to eight as Piedmont started to climb out of the first half hole dug early on.

Another freshman having a pleasant Cave Arena debut was Peyton Luken who was three of seven from the field hitting a pair of big-time threes late in the second half to keep Piedmont in front.  Luken tallied a dozen points in 22 minutes of play also adding an assist to his totals in a team performance from the men in green and gold.

The Lions will move on to face NAIA foe Truett-McConnell College on Monday, November 25th which will be a contest away from home for Piedmont who plays seven of its first nine games in 2013-14 away from the Cave.  Piedmont's Monday night showdown with the Cleveland, Georgia-based school is set to tip off at 7:30 pm with live audio coverage being provided by WCON radio.