NEED TO KNOW:
Score: Centenary 68, Piedmont 55
Records: Centenary, 2-2; Piedmont, 2-3

JACKSON, Ms. - The Piedmont men's basketball team could not overcome an early deficit in a 68-55 loss to Centenary Saturday. The Lions banked the first basket of the game but it was the only lead of the night for Piedmont as they fell behind 11-3 early and couldn't mount a comeback. 

That 11-0 run for the Gents kept Piedmont off the board again until the 14:53 mark when NOAH REARDON made a 3-pointer. The two teams were in the teens until Centenary reached 22 points with 8:38 to play in the first half as it was a low scoring affair. 

Piedmont got the lead down to three with 4:31 to play before the break, but could not pull any closer before a 38-29 lead for the Gents at the break. 

A 5-0 run to start the second half for the Gents made it a 14 point deficit for Piedmont, but the Lions continued to pluck away. Piedmont pulled as close as seven with under 3:00 to go, but could not close out the comeback. 

Centenary was 9-of-12 from the free throw line while Piedmont was just 1-of-4 with far less opportunities. 

Up next, the Lions will conclude the Millsaps College Tournament against the loser of Saturday's Millsaps v. Ozarks contest. That consolation game will be at 2 p.m. Sunday. 

TURNING POINT:
--Piedmont fell behind by eight after an early 11-0 run by Centenary and was never able to overcome it. 

STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
--RYAN JOLLY led the team with 14 points and five rebounds. 
--NOAH REARDON contributed 10 points off the bench. 

NEWS AND NOTES:
--The 55 points marked the lowest total of the season for the Lions. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
--Piedmont had just four points more in this contest than they saw off the bench (51) in their last outing when the team scored 96 against Oglethorpe. 

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