Need to Know
Score: Piedmont 93, Berry 83
Records: Lions 3-4, Vikings 4-3
Location: Mount Berry, Georgia - Berry College

Mount Berry, GA - Another hot shooting performance by the Lions led to a 93-83 victory over Berry Sunday afternoon as PEYTON LUKEN stepped up to the task with 27 points going 6-of-9 from behind the arc. This marks the second straight game a Piedmont player has put up 27 points as JUSTIN VALLEJO had 27 against Bob Jones in the last outing. 

The Vikings were the first on the board but the Lions opened up a quick eight point lead as Luken drained his first two looks from behind the arc making it 12-4 with 15:34 to play in the first half. Berry worked to cut the lead in half and took the lead again at the 10:12 mark when Ethan Clark hit a 3-pointer making it 19-18 Vikings.

At that point, Piedmont started a 23-10 run over the final ten minutes till the half to stretch out the lead with a 43-29 advantage at the break. A pair of back-to-back 3's by Luken and KELLY ASSINESI just inside of 4:00 to play began an 11-0 run that ended with another Luken three.

The Lions ended the half on a 14-3 run with the final points before the break coming from Luken at the line when he had the opportunity for three at the charity stripe and connected on all three. Piedmont extended that run after the break scoring the first five to take a 19-point lead. 

A Vallejo 3-pointer made it a 20-point lead for Piedmont with 14:35 to play as the scoreboard read 53-33 in favor of the Lions. It was never less than a 15-point lead until the final minutes as Piedmont stretched the lead to as many as 25 with 4:29 to play. 

The Vikings scored 16 points in the final 2:30 of the contest but it was too little too late as the Lions took the contest to win their second straight game. Both of those victories came on the road before heading into conference play this upcoming weekend. 

Turning Point
--Piedmont ended the first half on a 14-3 run to lead 43-29 at the half and never trailed from that point on. 

Standout Performances
--PEYTON LUKEN was 6-of-9 from 3-point range putting up a total of 27 points in the contest while being a perfect 5-for-5 at the charity stripe.
--JUSTIN VALLEJO was a rebound away from notching a double-double as he had 15 points and nine rebounds in the contest. 

Inside the Box Score
--Piedmont shot 50% from field goal range, the best performance of the season for the Lions. 
--The Lions out-rebounded the Vikings 44-28 including earning nine offensive rebounds. 

News & Notes
--The Vikings scored 53 points off the bench as only 30 points came from the starting five. 

Up Next
The Lions open USA South play Saturday on the road at William Peace University in Raleigh, N.C. The Pacers sit at 6-1 as of Sunday with their lone loss coming at the hands of Emory University. 

How to Follow
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