DEMOREST — Down 37-34 at the break, the Piedmont College men's basketball team battled back in the second half to complete the comeback winning 72-57 over Huntingdon Friday. This marked the first time in the 2016-17 season that Piedmont was trailing at halftime but came back to win the contest.
It was quiet early on as it was 5-0 Piedmont until the 15:36 mark when Huntingdon scored its first bucket of the contest, but the Hawks answered scoring seven straight to quickly get it in gear. Back-to-back 3-pointers by PEYTON LUKEN ignited the crowd inside Cave Arena giving Piedmont the lead once again.
It was a 3-point shootout in the first half as these two teams combined to shoot 32 3-pointers with both teams shooting 16 a piece. It was back and forth from that point on as it was never more than a three point game until the 7:58 mark when Andre Ashley hit a 3-pointer giving Huntingdon a 22-17 lead.
Huntingdon extended that lead to seven with just under four minutes to go in the first half but PC cut into the lead trailing 37-34 at the break. The Hawks hit a 3-pointer to open the second half followed by JUSTIN VALLEJO conntecting on back-to-back from behind the arc tying the game at 40.
Piedmont opened the half on a 12-3 run to open up the lead and never trailed again in the game leading by as many as 12 with 5:02 to play. The Lions ended the half on a 7-0 run holding the Hawks scoreless over the final 3:30 of the game.
JUSTIN VALLEJO led the way with a double-double scoring 20 points and notching 12 rebounds in the game while TRAE GAINES added 11 points as the other double-figure scorer for the Lions. Both PEYTON LUKEN and ELIJAH ALSTON scored nine points with CHASE ENGLAND scoring eight and adding eight rebounds.
Turning Point
--A 12-3 run to start the second half gave Piedmont the lead and the Lions never trailed again in the contest.
Standout Performances
--JUSTIN VALLEJO picked up his fourth double-double of the season totaling 20 points and 12 rebounds in the contest as he was a perfect 3-for-3 from 3-point range.
Inside the Box Score
--The Lions held the Hawks to just 20 points in the second half which is the second time this season that PC has held a team to 20 in a half (Sewanee-11.22.16)
News & Notes
--Piedmont picked up nine steals in the contest, the second most of any game this season.
Up Next
The Lions return to action at home Saturday taking on LaGrange College with a 4:00 p.m. tipoff scheduled. With the winter storm in the area, check back on PiedmontLions.com for further updates should any changed to the schedule occur.
