By Joshua J. Darling, Sports Information Director
PIEDMONT, Ga. – Up by as much as 24 points late in the first half, LaGrange (13-6, 5-1 CCS) had to fend off a game-tying three-point attempt in the final seconds as they escaped Piedmont (9-10, 3-4 CCS) with a narrow 80-77 victory in an NCAA Division III men's basketball game on Wednesday, January 25.
Senior guard Bershard Edwards (Lehigh Acres, Fla.) went a sizzling 8-of-11 from the field, 6-of-9 of that from beyond the arc, to lead the Panthers with a game-high 25 points along with four boards and three assists. As hot a shooting performance as that was, it was topped by senior forward Zac Hill (Senoia, Ga.) who went 8-of-9 for 21 points, five caroms, four assists and three steals in 35 minutes of work.
They were joined by freshman guard Brodie Scott (Athens, Ga.) with eight points, five rebounds and a pair of steals while junior guard Micah Paulk (Marietta, Ga.) led with seven caroms to go with four points. Junior guard Gabe Cofield (LaGrange, Ga.) added six boards and sophomore forward Kyle Smith (Titusville, Fla.) and junior guard Camerin Lyons (Peachtree City, Ga.) chipped in with eight and seven points, respectively.
The clubs would be separated by no more than two points early on as they deadlocked at 4-4 in the opening minutes. It wouldn't take long for LC to assert their will, however, as Edwards dropped nine points – all on threes – as part of a 13-2 run over the next 4:25. That outburst staked the Panthers to a commanding 17-6 lead by the 13:58 mark.
Back-to-back long balls by Noah Reardon and Ryan Jolly finally quelled that run, cutting the deficit to 17-12 by the 12:20 mark, but they would soon find themselves down by double-digits again, this time 22-12 just past the midway point of the half.
A triple by Orry Clements-Owens pulled them back to within seven but would be their last points for the next 6:22. In that time the Panthers ran wild, ripping off 17 straight points behind five different scorers to blow it open with a 39-15 advantage with 4:20 to play. A Dalton Meeler traditional three-point play then spearheaded PC taking seven of the next 11 points to stem the tide and trail just 43-22 at the break.
The teams would then play even over the majority of the second half, coming in at 27-27 over the first 13:45 and making it 70-49. The ensuing minutes would be anything but as the Lions roared to life in a way they had not all evening.
Over the next 3:07 Reardon and Jolly each scored five as they keyed a 15-0 run that took the game from an unmitigated blowout to 70-64 with 3:08 to play and completely within reach. LaGrange would bounce back to push their lead to 75-66 with 1:12 to play and 77-69 with 39 seconds on the clock but PC wasn't done yet.
In the next 35 seconds the Lions would pull off their best Reggie Miller impersonation as Jolly knocked down a bucket and Andrew Stimpson connected on back-to-back triples – the last coming with four seconds to play to make it 78-77.
A foul with two seconds to go sent Lyons to the line, where he proceeded to knock down both for a three-point advantage. Pinned at their own end, Piedmont tossed the ball along the baseline to get a better angle for a deep pass down court – one that with a touch pass ended up in the hands of Will Richter right at the three-point arc.
Somehow managing to get the ball in that position with just two seconds on the clock, he could only watch as his attempt at a game-tying three-pointer banged off the upper left square of the backboard, securing an extremely narrow 80-77 victory for the Panthers.
Reardon banged home four threes on his way to 24 points and six boards to lead Piedmont while Jolly finished with 15 points and six caroms. Devin Dean delivered a solid all-around game with 15 points, three rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals and Stimpson added 10 points, mostly on his two clutch threes. Meeler rounded out the top performances with five points and six rebounds.
On a short week, LaGrange is now off until Tuesday, January 31 when they play host to Huntingdon. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Mariotti Gym.
