SEWANEE, Tenn. (Dec. 17, 2015) – Behind a 55.8 shooting percentage, Piedmont snapped the Sewanee men's basketball team's 13-game home winning streak with an 84-72 victory, Thursday, inside Juhan Gymnasium.
The loss is the first at home for the Tigers since November 25, 2014. Ironically, it was Piedmont who also handed Sewanee its last defeat on the Domain a year ago. Overall, Sewanee and Piedmont are both now 5-3.
After Sewanee held an early 6-5 lead after a layup by Jacob McCullough, Piedmont answered with a 15-4 run over the next five minutes. Sewanee answered back with a scoring spurt of its own when Clay Born, Jorden Williams, Cody Jones, and Keshonn Carter all pulled the Tigers to within four, 23-19, with 8:27 left in the opening half.
After the score remained close for the next three minutes, a jumper by Osmond Robinson II opened an 11-7 run for the Lions to end the first half.
Ahead 26-19 at the break, Piedmont did not let up in the second half. After making 61.5 percent of their attempts the first 20 minutes, the Lions connected on 50 percent of their shots the final half.
With that, Piedmont built its largest lead of the game, 19 points, with 10:26 left after Trae Gaines made two consecutive threes.
Sewanee chipped away at its deficit from there behind a balanced offense. A jumper by Carter and layups by Seth Brown and Brody Stone pulled the Tigers to within 11 points, 68-57, with 6:14 remaining.
However, every time Sewanee tried to make a run, Piedmont make a key shot from either Gaines or leading scorer Chase England.
Overall, Sewanee finished with a 43.5 percent field goal percentage. The Tigers also outrebounded the Lions, 34-29. The difference in the game was Piedmont's 26 points off the bench.
Individually, Born led four Tigers in double figures with 15 points. Williams and Stone each added 12 while Jones pitched in 11 points.
England led all scorers for Piedmont with a game-high 19 points. Gaines added 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting while guard Kelly Assinesi finished with 10 points.
With the Advent academic calendar completed, Sewanee will now head on the road for December 29 contest against Frostburg State on the campus of Washington & Lee University. The Tigers will then play another game on December 30th in Lexington, Va.
For more information on Sewanee Athletics, please visit www.SewaneeTigers.com. You can also check the Tigers out on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr.