BY SHELBY WHITEHOUSE, CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Piedmont College men’s basketball team had a chance to go into overtime in a close game with 15 seconds left against the Panthers of Ferrum College, but they couldn’t hold on in the second half and saw an upset of 84-79. A three-pointer missed by freshman Chase England could have put Piedmont’s men into overtime.
Ferrum had an early lead in the game by putting 13 points up on Piedmont, who had three points, in the first five minutes of the game. Freshman Trae Gaines rebounded the ball at the 14 minutes mark which lead to a layup by freshman Brian Edwards to bring the deficit to six points. Sophomore Safari Smith had a steal and layup on a foul. The successful free throw brought the Lions within one point of the Panthers.
Freshman Austin Pearson knocked out a three-pointer with six minutes left in the first half, bringing Piedmont to 31 points and Ferrum to 23. The Lions continue to play offense and kept their lead. The score at halftime was 46-36.
Edwards was matching three-pointers with the Panthers to start off the second half. Many new Lions put points on the Panthers, including, Pearson, Edwards, England, and Freshman Jordyn Propst.
However, the Lions couldn’t hold on in the ladder part of the second half. The game was tied with 10 minutes left, and with six minutes, the Panthers took a ten point lead. Piedmont came back and kept the score close. There was less than a minute left on the clock, and the score was 76-80. The Lions were down by four. Austin Pearson shot a three-pointer that would bring the Lions within one point of the Panthers.
The Panthers scored a three-pointer bring the score to 79-81. Chase England shot for a three-pointer, hoping to tie the game. However, the shot missed. The Panthers made a layup and a set of free throws, bringing the score to 84-79. The Lions couldn’t score the last five points in the game and saw an upset in the Cave.
“We came out with a lot more intensity in the first half on the defensive side and we just couldn’t dial it up in the second half. We just didn’t play really good defense, is all it came down to. We are going to get a good days practice tomorrow and scout the other team and try to bring it for forty minutes instead of twenty,” said England.
The Piedmont College women’s basketball team couldn’t hold on against Ferrum College. Ferrum led both halves of the game and left the Lady Lions’ top scorers in single digits.
The Lady Lions had a one-point lead for a few moments, but it soon disappeared. The visiting Panthers nailed two three-pointers and a jumper, taking the lead in the first two minutes.
Freshman Carly Sales and Junior Symone Ball each hit free throws that would help bring the Lions back. Freshman Gabby Arencibia hit a shot that would bring the Lady Lions to a 21-19 lead.
The Lady Lions’ advantage didn’t last too long and the Panthers brought back the heat, taking over once again. A three-point shot at the buzzer put the halftime score at 37-24 with the Panthers in the lead.
In the second half the Lady Lions couldn’t handle the pressure that the Panthers defense was put on them. The Lady Lions were scoring, but not enough to keep up. Ferrum’s offense earned a 31-point lead with only eight minutes left in the game.
The Lady Lions tried to step up their game, bringing freshman Julianne Bayers off the bench. Bayers was scored, but not enough to make a difference. Senior Lauren Hamel tried her best to help, with ten rebounds in the second half, but the Ladies didn’t have enough time.
“We definitely lacked offense. We did a good job rebounding and playing defense, so for the next game we just need to focus on passing and a better offense,” said Symone Ball.
At the buzzer the Lady Lions fell 79-61. This only brings the ladies their second loss in the USA South Conference.
“They were definitely more post dominate, they have an inside game so we were really trying to focus on eliminating their second chance points by our out rebounding. We really focused hard on trying to double down on the post, but we ended up giving up a lot of outside shots that we weren’t expecting. They are a high shooting percentage team, which is different, really than what we’ve faced,” said Head Coach Jamie Purdy.