Hot Shooting Lions Down Brevard

Hot Shooting Lions Down Brevard

BREVARD, N.C. – Piedmont hit better than 60 percent from the floor in each half and 63.8 percent (37-for-58) in the contest, capitalized on the play of Marquise Lanier (20 points), Justin Vallejo (18) and Elijah Alston (10) to earn a 90-67 victory over Brevard in men's basketball action on Tuesday evening at Boshamer Gym.

Lanier finished 7-of-9 from the field, 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and was one of 13 Lions to score in the contest. Vallejo knocked down 8-of-11 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from long distance, and was one of three Piedmont players with multiple treys. Alston rounded out double-digit scorers by hitting 4-of-7 from the field and 2-of-2 from 3-point range.

That trio was instrumental in helping Piedmont hit 62.1 percent (18-29) in the first half, 65.5 percent (19-29) in the second frame and 63.8 percent (37-58) in their seventh win this month.

Brevard (4-13) was led offensively by the combination of Levi Lamb (19 points), Stevie Williams (15) and Cannon Lamb (13). Levi Lamb proved to be the most efficient Tornado shooter, hitting 6-of-9 from the floor and 3-of-5 from 3-point range.

Williams, who added three assists and two assists, closed the game by hitting 5-of-12 from the field and 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Cannon Lamb came off the bench to play 26 minutes, hitting 6-of-10 from the floor, while grabbing three rebounds.

Working with a 12-point advantage coming out of the locker room, Piedmont scored 10 unanswered over the first 2:08 of the second half to build a 52-30 lead. Williams came through with a 3-pointer for the Tornados, but a trey from Austin allowed the Lions to maintain their 20-point edge.

A trey from Nick Ryan provided the Lions with a 64-39 advantage, but it was freshman Cannon Lamb that took over for the Tornados, scoring 11 of the next 13 points during a 4:44 stretch.

Piedmont's lead would not slip below 21 points over the final nine minutes of the contest despite six points down the stretch by the Tornados' Levi Lamb.

Lanier led all scorers at the end of the first half, scoring 13 points after hitting 5-of-6 from the floor and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. He was joined in double digits by Vallejo, who scored 11 points by virtue of 5-of-8 shooting from the field.

Piedmont's offense was firing on all cylinders, hitting 18-of-29 (62.1%) as a unit, including 5-of-11 (45.1%) from 3-point range. The Lions established a 12-point lead at the break due in large part to a 24-12 advantage in points in the paint. Piedmont also capitalized on six Tornado turnovers by scoring 10 points.

A 3-pointer off the hand of Levi Lamb along with a layup by Jakob Bergen allowed Brevard to establish an early 7-4 advantage. The Lions, triggered by a series of treys by Alston and Vallejo, put together a 14-1 run over a 3:52 span to move in front 18-8.

Levi Lamb converted a pair of 3-pointers to help Brevard pull within six, 20-14, but conversions by Ryan and Miles Riley extended the Lions' lead back to 12 with just over 10 minutes remaining. Trailing by nine at the 6:01 mark a pair of layups by Williams highlighted an 8-2 Brevard spurt to narrow the gap to 31-26.

Piedmont would surrender just four points over the remainder of the half while using five points from Lanier to take a 42-30 advantage into the intermission.

The men's team returns to the court on Saturday, Feb. 3, when they trek to Pfeiffer for a 4 p.m. contest with the Falcons. The weekend concludes in Greensboro on Sunday at 3 p.m.