BEREA, Ky. – Sophomore guard
Kevion Hudson scored a game-high 22 points as the Berea College men's basketball team rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit to defeat Piedmont (Ga.) 64-62 on Thursday afternoon at the Seabury Center.
The Mountaineers pick up their second straight win while improving their record to 6-12 overall and 2-5 in USA South Conference play. The Lions fall to 7-12 overall and 2-4 in conference action.
Hudson had an efficient afternoon shooting the ball, finishing the contest seven-for-18 overall while hitting three of his seven three-point attempts and converting all five of his free throws. Freshman guard
Marquis Mackey shot three-for-four from beyond the arc to total 13 points. As a team, the Mountaineers were perfect from the charity stripe finishing 13-for-13.
Piedmont had the upper hand shooting the ball in the first half as they shot 52.9 percent to the Mountaineer's 34.6 percent. The Lions used this hot shooting to take their largest lead of the afternoon leading 29-9 with 8:36 remaining in the half. Berea did well to minimize the early damage as they trimmed the deficit to 40-25 to enter halftime.
The second half was a different tale for the Mountaineers as they shot 44.8 percent from the field and converted six of their 10 three-point attempts. Freshman guard
Trey Minter got the second frame rolling for Berea as he was fouled while attempting a shot from beyond the arc to earn a trip to the free-throw line, knocking down all three attempts.
Following a pull-up jump shot from Piedmont's Andrew Stimpson, freshman guard
Jarel Montgomery and Hudson made the most out of their trips to the free-throw line as Berea outscored the Lions 7-2 to trail 42-32 with 17:36 left in the game. Berea pulled to within eight points as junior guard
Isaac Caudill set up Montgomery for a backdoor layup.
The Lions pushed the lead back to 10 points, but a layup by sophomore forward
Tyler Boggs and a three-pointer by Caudill brought the Mountaineers storming back, trailing 44-39 with a little under 15 minutes remaining. Piedmont once again built a double-digit advantage, using a 10-0 run to jump ahead. Hudson put an end to Piedmont's run as Caudill found him open on the wing for a three-pointer to ignite a 10-0 run of their own to trail 54-49 with 10:16 left.
It seemed as if the Lions were destined to push their lead to double-digits once again as they took a 58-49 advantage, but back-to-back three-pointers by Mackey and Hudson turn it into a one-possession game. Following a steal from Minter, Hudson knocked down a pull-up jump shot to tie the contest 58-58 with 5:53 remaining in the game.
The Mountaineers finally broke through as Boggs picked the pocket of Piedmont's Jordan Foote, leading to a fastbreak layup by Mackey to give Berea its first lead of the game 62-61 with 3:41 remaining. Hudson gave the Mountaineers a cushion as he collected a rebound and pushed up the court for a coast-to-coast layup to give Berea a three-point lead.
The Lions had a couple of opportunities to send the game into overtime as they secured two offensive rebounds from two three-point shots but were eventually fouled for two shots at the free-throw line. The Lion's Will Richter hit his first free throw attempt and intentionally missed his second, hoping to get the offensive rebound. However, the Lions came up short as Minter secured the rebound to complete the Mountaineers second-half rally, defeating Piedmont 64-62.
The Berea College men's basketball team's next match is a rematch against Piedmont on Saturday, Feb. 5 in Demorest, Ga. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
