NEED TO KNOW 
Score: Young Harris 83, Piedmont 63
Records: Piedmont, 4-2; Young Harris 6-3

HIAWASSEE, Ga.— The Lions fell in a DII exhibition against the Young Harris Mountain Lions on Wednesday afternoon by a final score of 83-63.

The Lions were able to take advantage of early turnovers from the Mountain Lions to take the lead and carry it for the majority of the first half with a 19-14 edge creating most of the separation. Piedmont was carried in the first half by another great performance from Jackson Houston. Houston landed four three-pointers to boost the Lions and entered halftime with 12 points.

As the half went on, Young Harris shook off their early cobwebs and began finding the bottom of the net as they battled back to the tie game in the final three minutes. The Mountain Lions would steal the lead away off of a buzzer-beating jumper from Justin Payne.

With the score close, Piedmont would come out of the locker room looking to stay competitive against their DII opponent however, would run into trouble early into the second half as their leading scorer, Jackson Houston, got called for his fourth personal foul, sending him into foul trouble with 15:42 left on the clock. 

While Young Harris ran out to an early lead to begin the second half, the Lions would fight hard to keep it close, but while they kept Young Harris' Carl Cleveland in check in the first half, he came alive in the second half of the game, pushing the Mountain Lions past Piedmont with 29 points on the day and was the catalyst for a late 16-5 run pushing the lead to 74-56. 

The Mountain Lions would hold the Lions back for the rest of the game, as they would come away with a 83-63 victory.

Piedmont showed shine in this exhibition as Houston had another great scoring game, finishing with 17 points. Dylan Patrick and Parker Renault also turned in solid performances as they combined for 23 points.

Next up, the Lions will head to Daytona Beach, Fla., to play in the Mauro Panaggio Tournament starting on Dec. 15th against SUNY Brockport at 2:00 p.m. 

TURNING POINT:
- A late 16-5 run by the Mountain Lions that put the Lions out of reach. 

STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
- Jackson Houston tallied 17 points with 15 coming from beyond the arc. 

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