Men's Hoops Edged by Piedmont

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Austin College men's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker in Memphis, falling 86-85 to Piedmont College on Tuesday afternoon. The 'Roos are now 2-9 overall this season.

Austin College put together a huge first half, exploding for 59 points thanks to 11-of-20 shooting from three-point range. The 'Roos trailed 28-23 with just over eight minutes remaining before halftime, but got red-hot from long distance and went into the locker room leading Piedmont by a score of 59-45. Austin Wells led the three-point barrage, drilling 5-of-8 attempts and scoring 17 of his team-high 19 points in the first half.

However, the 'Roos went cold in the second half, shooting just 28.1% from the field and knocking down only 2-of-9 threes after the break. Piedmont shot 51.4% in the second half, out-scoring Austin College 41-26 and leading by as many as nine points at 79-70. The 'Roos came back to square things at 84 and took an 85-84 lead on a free throw by Josh Garrett with 16 seconds left, but Piedmont scored with just four seconds remaining to hand Austin College the loss.

Wells was one of five Austin College players in double digits, scoring 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting. Justice Mercadel added 16 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, four blocked shots, and two steals, and Kam Hogan added 13 for the 'Roos. Kameron Hill and Josh Hardwick came off the bench to add 11 and 10 points, respectively, combining for five made three pointers between them.