Box Score Toccoa Falls, GA – The Piedmont College men's basketball team fell in its final contest of the 2013-14 season earlier tonight dropping a 59-57 decision to Toccoa Falls College on the road.  The score was tied at 57 all with under a minute to play as the Eagles found an open man under the basket and a Piedmont foul led to Toccoa's Cameron Williams getting to the line for a pair of free throws that decided the hard fought contest.  

Piedmont scored first on the night on Jordyn Propst's jumper in the paint but saw Toccoa tie it up quickly with a bucket of their own as a foreshadowing of things to come as the score was tied up ten times on the night.  Down 10-8, Piedmont's Peyton Luken stepped up to knock down a three to put his team back in front on the road by one point.

The back-and-forth continued as Toccoa would hit a three of their own the next time down the court as Josh Folwell knocked down the tri-fecta to swing the home team ahead.  With 8:44 left in the first, PC and the home team found themselves tied at 22, a tie broken by the Lions' Safari Smith who drained another try from downtown as Piedmont hit six three pointers in the opening period against a tough Eagles zone that forced PC to settle for outside shots early on.

Tied at 28 with two minutes until halftime, only one more point would be scored before the break as Chase England's lone free throw gave Piedmont a 29-28 advantage heading into the locker room. 

Toccoa was quick to take the lead back in the second half when Eagle Jon Sauls hit a three to put the home team up 31-29 just over 30 seconds into the half.  Freshman Chase England tied the game up for the 7th time when he hit a two point bucket the next trip down for PC as it was becoming clear to everyone in the building that this one may come down to the wire. 

Midway through the second half, Chris Meeks hit a three that put his team ahead 45-44, only his 5th three pointer of 2013-14.  England made it back-to-back when he connected from distance after an Eagles layup showing there would be no taking it easy on this night in Northeast Georgia.

From that point on, no team would lead by more than three points as PC held a 56-53 lead with just over three minutes remaining after a Jessie Jenkins layup.  Toccoa answered right back though to keep it at a one point margin which England would double on the next Piedmont possession hitting one of his two free throws as the visitors held a two-point lead with just over two minutes to go.

Down two, Toccoa would get another Jon Sauls bucket as he had 13 on the night with his final two points tying up the game at 57 each and setting a dramatic New York minute with the Eagles now looking to put the Lions on the brink of a defeat in their final contest of the season.

A missed three-pointer on the Lions' end and a harmless jumper by Toccoa gave Piedmont a chance to go ahead on what was sure to be their last possession as a Chase England three pointer rattled out and bounced around finding the hands of Toccoa's Josh Barrett who secured the board with under 35 seconds to go meaning TFC would be in charge for the final possession.

With the game in their hands and the shot clock turned off, Toccoa Falls came down without calling a timeout to take a moment to talk it over, putting the ball in the hands of junior guard Josh Barrett who held for the final shot.  Seeing the time tick down to ten seconds, Barrett made his move driving down the center of the lane to force the issue with the score tied at 57 each.

With the Piedmont defense collapsed around the Eagles' Barrett, he found a streaking Cameron Williams coming off the left wing and settling under the basket as Barrett dished a sleek pass to his cutting teammate who was fouled as his field goal rattled around the rim and out.  Williams stepped up the line knocking down the first forcing Piedmont Coach Greg Neeley to use a timeout to talk it over with his team.

After  that quick pause, Williams knocked down the second free throw try and Piedmont inbounded quickly as the Lions could only manage a desperation three pointer which could not connect as the Lions fell by two to their local rival Toccoa Falls College.  The Eagles pick up their second win in the last three games in the series between the two.  

Piedmont was led in scoring by Chase England who had 15 points on four of nine shooting from the field as he was also two of four from distance.   England got to the line for nine free throws and made five of those as Piedmont shot 57% from the charity stripe on the night with England taking nine of their 14 free throws. 

By comparison, the Eagles also shot eight of 14 for the same 57% mark though their final two proved costly for the Lions in the end.

The only other Lion in double figures was Trae Gaines who posted 13 points on five of 11 shooting as he was three of seven from downtown.  Gaines also had four rebounds, one behind team leaders England and Jessie Jenkins in that category as each had five a piece. 

The Lions wrap up their 2013-14 season, the first under Head Coach Greg Neeley, with a 9-16 overall record finishing 4-10 in the USA South Athletic Conference.  For more information on the Piedmont College men's basketball program, continue to check back at the official home of Piedmont College athletics on the web at PiedmontLions.com where you can find news, scores, and highlights of all your favorite Lion and Lady Lion teams.