TOCCOA — For the second straight game, Piedmont was forced to wait until the final buzzer to know the outcome as it came down to one final effort by the Screaming Eagles with less than two seconds to play, but the Lions came away with a 93-91 victory on the road.
The Lions took all three games against Toccoa Falls this season.
The game started slow for the Lions as they were quickly down by seven with just over two minutes off the clock. The Screaming Eagles hit a pair of three's in that opening stretch to take control early.
Piedmont cut the lead to just a single point at 14-13 with 15:13 to play in the first half on a Daniel McCravy jumper in the paint, but Toccoa Falls regained control stretching their lead to 11 with 11:08 to play after back-to-back 3-pointers.
The Lions trailed by as many as 13 with just over seven minutes on the clock but used a 12-3 run over a six minute span to cut back into the lead and trailed 40-36 at the break. Piedmont committed 13 turnovers in the first half while forcing just six, but flipped those numbers in the second half committing seven and forcing 11.
Chase England hit a 3-pointer to start the second half coming out with a bang as he ended the night with a game-high 21 points, scoring 16 of those in the second half. Piedmont tied the game at 44 on an England free throw, part of an eight point run that gave Piedmont its first lead of the night.
The Lions built as much as a nine point lead in the second half with just under seven minutes to go, but the Screaming Eagles would not surrender. With just under two to play, Piedmont led by seven after a Luken 3-pointer but Toccoa Falls reeled off seven straight to tie the game at 89 with just 51 seconds remaining.
Taylor Mills, who hit 7-of-9 three point attempts in the Lions' last game at Toccoa Falls, was crucial in the final moments as he was fouled and made both free throws to put Piedmont up by two. Mills then hit another free throw with 12 seconds to go before grabbing the final defensive rebound of the game for Piedmont with three seconds to go. The Screaming Eagles' last attempt was thrown up by Jaleel Bailey but was no good from across half court.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/1/365539/lions-outlast-local-rival-toccoa-falls-college-93-91