Macon, GA – The Piedmont College Men’s Basketball team hit the court for the first time Friday night taking on Division I Mercer in an 88-48 loss in what was a non-counting exhibition match for PC. The Lions saw all five starters from the end of last season resume their roles with Peyton Luken leading the charge with 16 points.
Luken ended the night as the second leading scorer in the game adding 3 rebounds and an assist. Chase England was tied as the second leading scorer on the team with 8 points and three rebounds as well, as the starters accounted for 30 points in Friday’s contest.
The Lions also saw four freshmen earn playing time off the bench in their first outing in the Green and Gold. Piedmont had 18 points off the bench with sophomore Trae Gaines contributing 8 points while freshman Justin Vallejo added 6 points and a team-high 5 rebounds.
It was Piedmont who struck first as both Luken and England made layups to give the Lions the 4-0 lead, and Luken tied the game at 12 all on a 3-pointer with 12:17 left in the first half. The Bears then took control of the game as they rallied off a 15 point run while keeping the Lions from making a basket for over seven minutes.
At the half, Mercer had twice as many points as Piedmont as the score was 42-21, but the Lions made back-to-back 3-point jumpers to start the second half thanks to Luken and England which forced a Bears timeout. The Lions were 5-of-6 from behind the arc to begin the second half as the first 15 points PC put on the board in the second half came courtesy of 3-pointers.
In the final stretch of the game, Piedmont was unable to connect from anywhere on the court but the free throw line as 10 of their final 12 points in the game came from free throws. On the night, PC was 10-of-14 at the line, connecting on 71.4% of their free throws.
The Lions will officially begin the season on Tuesday night as they head to face another Division I opponent on the road taking on the Presbyterian Blue Hose. The Blue Hose opened the season against the last team Mercer won against a year ago as they were downed by the Duke Blue Devils in Durham 113-44. Piedmont will have their chance against Presbyterian on Tuesday in Clinton, S.C. with tipoff at 7:30 p.m.
