ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — With just six seconds remaining in the game, the Pride of Greensboro College hit a layup to go ahead 77-75 and held on for the victory in the quarterfinals of the USA South Championship Tournament on Thursday. The Lions had one last chance, but a full court drive by Chase England ended in a missed layup at the buzzer, ending the Lions 2015-16 season.
Elation turned to defeat as the Lions tied the game with 35 seconds remaining on a Justin Vallejo 3-pointer giving the Lions the spark they needed late in the game, but a layup on the ensuing possession proved to be too much for Piedmont in the end.
The Lions fell behind early in the contest as Greensboro took a 9-4 lead with just over 16 minutes to play, but a seven point run put Piedmont up 11-9. It remained no more than a three point game until Peyton Luken drained a 3-pointer to make it 19-15 Piedmont.
Luken would hit another 3-pointer on the next possession just 32 seconds later as he ended the day with three from beyond the arc. Piedmont stretched the lead to nine points late in the first half but went into the half up by seven 44-37.
Both England and Luken had over 10 points in the first half as they had 13 and 11, respectively.
The game remained close in the second half as Piedmont led until the 14:29 mark when Greensboro tied the game at 53. The Pride took the lead on a 3-pointer by Simeon Howard with 12:33 to go making it 61-58.
Greensboro held the lead from that point until Vallejo hit a jumper in the paint to give Piedmont a 67-66 lead. These two continued to fight back and forth as it was never more than a three point game from that point on.
The Pride were up by one with less than a minute to go when Howard hit a jumper to extend their lead to three points, 75-72. Vallejo's 3-pointer with 35 seconds remaining tied the game but the Lions' last chance hope fell short on their final possession.
Piedmont finished the year 15-11 overall with their best mark under head coach Greg Neeley and best season overall since the 2009-10 year.
