MARYVILLE, Tenn. – For the third straight contest, the Piedmont men’s basketball team’s fate was determined in the final minute of play as the Lions lost 86-84 on the road at Maryville Sunday.
Piedmont was held scoreless over the final three minutes of play as Maryville surged ahead for the win using a 9-0 run to end the game.
The Lions fell behind early by eight points but tied it up with a Fisher Darden 3-pointer nearly eight minutes in. The two danced around back-and-forth with Piedmont taking a three point lead off a 3-pointer by Caleb Lesch, but the Scots again managed to take a six point lead with under five to go till the half.
Piedmont challenged late as Griffin Neville hit a pair of 3-pointers, but the Scots led 42-38 at the break.
In the second half, Noah Reardon tied the game at 50 on a fastbreak layup with 16:08 remaining. Piedmont was not able to take the lead until nearly the 10:00 mark as Ryan Jolly hit a jumper to go ahead 66-64.
Piedmont stretched their lead to as many as eight with 8:02 remaining off another Neville triple, but in the final eight minutes, Piedmont scored just eight points after leading 76-68.
In the final eight minutes of play, Piedmont committed six turnovers and went 3-of-14 from the field.
Up next, the Lions head to Belhaven to take on the Blazers Saturday at 5 p.m.
TURNING POINT:
–The Scots held Piedmont scoreless over the final three minutes of play as Maryville connected for nine points and the victory.
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
—Ryan Jolly led Piedmont with 15 points as he was held off his average of 20+ points for the fourth game in a row.
—Griffin Neville posted a season-high 14 points off the bench.
NEWS AND NOTES:
–Piedmont’s last three losses have come by a combined seven points.
