Piedmont men’s basketball completes OT comeback victory over BSC 91-83

DEMOREST, Ga. – In an improbable comeback that saw Piedmont trail by as many as 16 points, the men’s basketball team delivered a thrilling overtime victory Sunday evening 91-83 over Birmingham-Southern.

The Lions’ defense kept the Panthers off the board in the final 2:56 of regulation and the offense managed 10 points to tie it up. Bailey Wiseman banked the game-tying three-pointer with 16 seconds remaining, marking his second 3-pointer in the final 1:32 of regulation.

In the second half, Piedmont outscored the Panthers 49-36 after totaling just 24 points in the opening half. In overtime, Piedmont kept momentum and quickly took a five-point lead, but the Panthers hung tough.

Noah Reardon converted crucial free throws in the final 30 seconds of OT to make it 89-83 and Wiseman capped it off with a dunk to close it out.

The Panthers were cruising in the first half and built a 13-point lead at the break 37-24. The 24 points are the least the Lions have managed in a half this season.

Piedmont cut it to an eight-point game off a fastbreak layup by Ryan Jolly with 14:01 to go in regulation, but that was as close as Piedmont would come until the 7:35 mark when three separate technical fouls were assessed.

It was a pair of offsetting technicals given to players and a technical on the bench for BSC that sent Jolly to the line, where he made a pair of free throws to cut it to a six-point game.

The Lions trailed by 13 with 5:19 to play, but the comeback was completed inside a raucous Cave Arena.

Up next, the Lions will continue their five-game homestand taking on Millsaps on Friday, December 1, at 3 p.m.

TURNING POINT:
–Piedmont trailed by 10 with less than three to play in regulation and the defense kept the Panthers off the board while the offense closed the gap.

STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
—Bailey Wiseman was lights out in the final minutes of this contest as he scored 13 points in the last 6:32 of the game, including overtime.
—Ryan Jolly led all scorers with 26 points going a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line.
–Two Lions posted career-highs in rebounds as Joe Helenbrook delivered 17 rebounds in the game while Fisher Darden added 15.

NEWS AND NOTES:
–Piedmont scored 91 points in both contests over the weekend after averaging 91 points through the first four games of the season.

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