The Lions and Lady Lions’ 2017-18 full slates have been revealed.
LIONS
Piedmont’s head men’s basketball coach Greg Neeley announced his 2017-18 basketball scheduled earlier this month which includes 12 home contests and two exhibition games against NCAA Division I opponents. Joining Neeley on the coaching staff this season is former Piedmont College men’s basketball graduate assistant Jake Brooks. The full schedule can be found here.
Piedmont closed the 2016-17 season with a 14-12 record while going 8-6 in USA South Athletic Conference play. The Lions made the conference tournament as the sixth seed but fell in the opening round to number three seeded Maryville.
Neeley welcomes seven freshmen to team and returns 10 players from last year’s squad. The Lions will call upon their three seniors to lead and contribute heavily to the team this year.
Season Openers
PC will open the regular season in Atlanta on November 15 when they take on UAA opponent Emory University. The Lions will then make stops at Kennesaw State and Sewanee before hosting Berry and Oglethorpe on December 2 and 3. Last season, the Lions dropped two games to Sewanee and one to Emory but took victories against Berry and Oglethorpe.
Division I Play
The Lions will travel to two Division I opponents this season for a pair of exhibition games. On November 16, Piedmont will take on in-state opponent Kennesaw State University. This season will mark the ninth season in the past 10 years that the Lions are scheduled to take on a Division I opponent. PC and Kennesaw State played in the 2013-14 and 2012-13 seasons as Piedmont fell seven points of the upset in 2013. Later in the season, the Lions will travel to Clinton, South Carolina for their second exhibition game against Division I opponent Presbyterian. In the 2014-15 season, Piedmont lost by 10 to the Blue Hose.
Home Schedule
The Lions will play in Cave Arena for 12 games this season, nine being conference matchups. Piedmont will open its home schedule against a pair of SAA schools before Huntingdon and Methodist come to town in mid-December. PC will host four home games in January and then close out its regular season with four straight home games.
USA South Play
The conference portion of the schedule for Piedmont kicks off at Maryville on December 9 and follows with a trip to Berea on the December 10. The Lions then host Huntingdon (Dec. 13) and Methodist (Dec. 16) to close out conference play in 2017. Piedmont will play 15 games in the new year with 12 being USA South contests. The three non-conference game wills be against future USA South opponents, Brevard and Pfeiffer. PC will play LaGrange, Covenant and Brevard twice in 2018.
LADY LIONS
Piedmont women’s basketball head coach Jamie Purdy announced her 2017-18 schedule earlier this month as the Lady Lions will play in 25 games with 14 being conference matchups. To view the entire 2017-18 schedule, click here.
Last season, Piedmont captured its first USA South Athletic Conference Championship and finished the season with a 21-8 record. Senior CARLIE SHIELDS was named tournament MVP while senior DAKOTA SULLENS was named to the USA South All-Tournament team.
Piedmont defeated Huntingdon, Ferrum and Maryville on its way to the title and would go onto to face Albright College in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament but came up just short, losing 54-64.
Outside of winning the USA South title, the highlight for the Lady Lions was going a perfect 13-0 in front of the home fans in Cave Arena, a first during the NCAA-era.
Coach Purdy welcomes five newcomers to this year’s roster while returning 12 players. Purdy will look to her four seniors for their leadership on and off the court as Piedmont will try to repeat as conference champs.
November Play
The Lady Lions open their season with a trip to Salem, Virginia to take on Roanoke College on November 18. The following day, PC will tipoff against Washington and Lee as the two programs will face each other for the first time in program history.
Piedmont will then travel to Rome, Georgia the following weekend to take part in the USA South/SAA Classic hosted by Berry College. On November 25, coach Purdy will ready her team to take on Oglethorpe University before following with a matchup against Berry the following day to complete the tournament.
The Lady Lions will then close out the month of November with a trip to Emory on November 30.
Home Schedule
Piedmont will host 10 games this season in Cave Arena and looks to continue its winning ways in Demorest. The Lady Lions will host their first home game against Agnes Scott on December 13 for a mid-week matchup and closes the month of December with the Cancer Awareness Tournament on December 29 and 30. PC will take on Greensboro College on Friday before playing Methodist University on Saturday.
The New Year begins with four home contests in the first two weeks. Huntingdon (Jan. 6) and Maryville (Jan. 7) will make the trip to Demorest before Berea (Jan. 13) and Wesleyan (Jan. 14) visit Cave Arena. The Lady Lions will play three more home games before closing their regular season on the road.
USA South Play
The Lady Lions will begin their conference schedule on December 2 with a trip to LaGrange College before hosting Agnes Scott on December 13. After the New Year, Piedmont rattles off seven straight conference games and will play Huntingdon twice and Maryville, Covenant, Berea, Wesleyan and Agnes Scott once. PC will have five conference games in the its final six games before the conference tournament starts on February 14.
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