DEMOREST, Ga. (Jan. 6, 2015) – A layup with two seconds remaining by Justin Vallejo lifted Piedmont to a 54-52 victory over the Sewanee men's basketball team, Tuesday, inside Cave Arena.
The loss snapped a two-game Sewanee winning streak. The Tigers are now 6-5 overall.
After Piedmont opened the game on an 8-3 run, Sewanee answered back. Back-to-back jumpers by Jorden Williams and Brody Stone sparked a 12-4 spurt by the Tigers.
Even after Piedmont kept the game to within one point on two straight possessions, Sewanee stayed hot from the field. A three by Williams, a jumper by Marcellus Caldwell, and a three by Jacob McCullough gave Sewanee a seven-point lead with just under two minutes to play in the first half.
Early in the second half, the Tigers kept rolling. Sewanee stretched its advantage to seven during the first minutes of second half after Williams hit another three and Leo Born made a pair of free throws.
The Tigers eventually pushed their lead to 11, 47-36, after Williams completed an old fashion three-point play with 9:22 left.
However, over the final nine minutes of action, Piedmont would start to chip away at its deficit. A layup by Chase England, and a three by Peyton Luken, cut the Sewanee lead to six, 47-41, with 8:19 to play.
A possession later, England would make another jumper. Piedmont would then hold Sewanee scoreless on the Tigers' next two trips down the floor. That set up a three by Vallejo with 4:01 remaining.
Down the stretch, Vallejo continued to take over. Five straight points by the Piedmont forward tied the game at 50-50 with 2:40 left. After a pair of Caldwell free throws, Jessie Jenkins tied the game again with 1:22 to play.
That would set up the game winner by Vallejo after England forced a Sewanee turnover with 55 seconds left.
Overall, Sewanee outshot Piedmont with a 46.3 field-goal percentage. Despite taking care of the ball with just six turnovers, the Tigers were undone by Piedmont's ability to grab offensive rebounds. The Lions scored 18 second-chance points on 14 offensive boards.
Individually, Williams and Keshonn Carter paced Sewanee with 16 points each.
Vallejo led Piedmont with 15 points and eight rebounds.
Sewanee returns to Southern Athletic Association (SAA) play with an 8:00 p.m. contest against Millsaps, Friday, inside Juhan Gymnasium.
For more information on Sewanee Athletics, please visit www.SewaneeTigers.com. You can also check the Tigers out on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr.