Demorest, GA – The William Peace men's basketball team jumped out to a 17 point halftime lead but were unable to close it out in the second half. The Pacers fell on the road to Piedmont College, 70-68, in their USA South conference opener.

The Pacers (4-8, 0-1 USAS) played better defensively and had one of their better shooting performances of the year, going 44.4% (24-54) from the field, while holding Piedmont to 38.6% (22-57) from the field. The Lions (6-6, 1-0 USAS) dominated the boards though (40-26) and took advantage with 18 second chance points.

"They hurt us on the offensive boards, and their guys made a couple huge plays on the defensive end that really swung the momentum," said head coach Claude Shields.  "We had a great look at the end but just didn't convert."

WPU trailed, 21-20, with eight minutes left in the first, but a pair of Nate Strother free-throws at the 7:30 mark was just the beginning of a 21-3 tear. Bryson Gibson drained a three as time expired, and the Pacers took a 17 point lead (41-24) into the locker room at the break.

While the Pacers controlled every bit of the momentum by the end of the first, Piedmont took it all back on the other side of halftime. WPU turned it over twice and went 0-4 to start the second half, as the Lions went on a 10-0 run, cutting their deficit to eight (41-33) with 16:39 to play.

The Pacers seemed to weather the storm and held on to a seven point lead (64-57) after Chris Thomas hit a jumper at the 4:55 mark, but Piedmont wasn't done. Jessie Jenkins made a layup and then Peyton Luken hit two from three-point land for an 8-0 Lions spurt, which propelled them to a 65-64 lead with 2:32 to go. It was their first lead since the score was 21-20.

Following a Lions turnover on their next possession, Jalen Vince put WPU back on top by a point, but Brian Edwards answered with a layup on the other end for Piedmont. Vince hit another clutch shot on the Pacer's next possession to reclaim the lead, but the Lions responded again as Justin Vallejo hit a jumper. After coming up empty on offense and fouling with 10 seconds left, WPU had one last chance to tie it up or get the win but couldn't capitalize.

Three Pacers scored in double-figures.  Thomas led the team with 14 points and also added four rebounds, two steals, and an assist. Strother scored 13 off the bench along with three rebounds.  Vince scored 12 and brought down four boards.  Shawn Shaffer had nine points and five rebounds before he was forced to exit the game early.

Peyton Luken scored a game high 21 points behind a 6-for-10 performance from beyond the arc. Justin Vallejo also had an impressive outing, registering a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds.

The William Peace men's basketball team will have a week off before traveling for a pair of South Division matchups next weekend.  The Pacers square off against Maryville on Friday and then turn around the next day for a game at Covenant.

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