DEMOREST -- The Piedmont College men's basketball team had another close call inside Cave Arena, but the Lions fell on the losing end 89-86 against LaGrange.<br />
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Chris Meeks continued to be a dominant force for the Lions as he secured his fifth double-double of the season with a team-high 22 points and 13 rebounds.<br />
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The Lions had five players in double figures with Justin Vallejo, the reigning USA South Rookie of the Week, scoring 16, Brian Edwards adding 15, Chase England notching 13 and Jessie Jenkins contributing 10.<br />
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LaGrange had a double threat with Mark Wagner and Nick Mitchell combining for 47 of their 89 points in the contest. Another 19 points came off the hands of Alex Bonner who was 7-of-8 from the floor, as those three players combined for 75 percent of the Panthers' points Saturday.<br />
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The game was close early but the Lions jumped out to a seven point lead with 13:58 remaining in the first half on a pair of free throws by England. Piedmont would stretch that lead to 11 just minutes later as the team hit back-to-back-to-back layups off the hands of Marqise Lanier, Meeks and Vallejo.<br />
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The Lions would lead by as many as 13 in the first half, but the Panthers mounted a comeback scoring seven unanswered to cut the lead to six points. LaGrange's Wagner would tie the game at 36 with just over 4:00 to play before the break.<br />
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Wagner gave the Panthers their first lead in the game with 2:58 till the half, but Piedmont would hit five straight to end the first half and put the Lions up 49-44. <br />
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The Lions built their lead back to eight early in the second half, but the Panthers kept pace as Bonner tied the game at 56 with 14:34 remaining. LaGrange took the lead just over a minute later on a 3-pointer from Wagner to go up by a single point.<br />
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LaGrange extended its lead to as many as seven over the next 11:00 of action, but the two top scorers for the Lions, Meeks and Vallejo, pulled together to make a late run as Piedmont tied the game with 3:50 to go. Meeks would give the Lions their first lead since 13:10 remained with just 2:05 on the clock after he hit a layup in what would be the final basket of the game for the men in green and gold.<br />
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The Panthers hit a jumper with just under 2:00 to play and iced the game with a pair of free throws in the final seconds to seal the victory.<br />
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The loss drops the Lions' record to 11-11 overall and 6-6 in the USA South placing them in seventh in the league with two conference games left on the slate.<br />
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The Lions will be back on the court in less than 24 hours as they take on Huntingdon College at 1 p.m. Sunday's contest will mark the final conference home game of the season for Piedmont.
