DEMOREST — Behind a career-best performance by Chase England, the Lions exacted revenge on the Hawks of Huntingdon College with a 90-81 victory Sunday afternoon. The two split their season series with each winning on their home court.
England, a Gainesville High graduate, had a lights-out day scoring 27 points while going 7-of-9 from the floor, 3-of-4 from beyond the arc and 10-of-11 from the charity stripe. The Lions had four players in double digits as Chris Meeks and Trae Gaines accounted for 14 each and Justin Vallejo added 10 points.
The game was tight early as it was never more than a three point game until Anthony White hit a 3-pointer for the Hawks to give them a four point lead with 10:27 remaining in the first. Piedmont's England would answer with a 3-pointer of his own to cut it back to one less than a minute later.
Piedmont led by as many as five in the waning minutes of the first half, but went into the break up by three, 42-39. The Lions built a nine point lead multiple times in the second half but the Hawks made a 9-0 run to tie the game at 66 with just over 8:00 to play.
Back-to-back three's by England and Peyton Luken made it a six point advantage again, but the Hawks were not giving up as they cut the lead back to two with 4:33 to go. The Lions held Huntingdon without a bucket for over three minutes in the final stretch of play during a 7-0 Piedmont run that sealed the game.
The Lions held their largest lead of 11 points with 10 seconds remaining in the contest though a bucket with seven seconds remaining would cut that lead to nine for the final score. Piedmont went 10-of-12 at the free throw line down the stretch en route to the victory.
