Piedmont Teams Drop Close Games Tuesday on the Road in Macon

Piedmont Academy’s varsity basketball teams were both involved in contests which were decided by one point Tuesday.

Unfortunately for the Cougars and Lady Cougars, both games went in the opposition’s favor. The Piedmont boys fell 44-43 in overtime against Central Fellowship in Macon while the Lady Cougars fell 34-33.

In the boys game, the score was even at 39 after regulation. Central Fellowship outscored Piedmont 5-4 in the overtime period. The loss overshadowed another strong effort from Bobby Mitchell, who finished with 16 points. Justin Wilson added 13 points while Jakey Dunagan scored 7. Davis Kimball finished with 5 points with Zach Beggs adding 2.

“It was a tough loss for us,” said coach Josh Daher. “We battled all night. We were losing late and came back to tie it up and send it to overtime. Anytime you go on the road in this region you have to play solid and we didn’t do it.

“We went 8-of-18 from the free throw line and missed too many short jumpers. We held a great scoring team to 44 points, but we have to find a way to get a couple more buckets throughout the game. I am still so proud of this team. They play as hard as they can every night, and really take pride in their defense. If we cut down on the turnovers and make a couple more shots, then we are going to be tough to deal with in the tournaments.”

The fourth quarter proved to be the difference in the girls’ game. Central Fellowship outscored Piedmont 12-4 in the final eight minutes. The Lady Cougars held a 7-point lead after the third quarter. Hailey Burnham’s 14 points paced Piedmont Tuesday night while Heather Tyler added 7 points and Lanie King scored 6. Beth Anne Mahaffey, Lucy Strickland and Kacy Swart had 2.

“For the better part of three and a half quarters, we played as well as we have all year long,” said Lady Cougar coach Wes Tanner. “Then, we just could not finish it out. We had around 20 turnovers in the game and I’m willing to bet that 10 of those were in that last stretch. It’s a situation we have to learn from and not dwell on. That goes for the players and myself. I know this bunch and they are resilient. They don’t quit and they are not going to quit. Friday is a big game for us to get it turned around before it’s ‘win or go home’ the next week.”

Prior to Tuesday, the Piedmont teams traveled to Gatewood Friday. The varsity boys dropped a close 34-28 decision despite outscoring Gatewood 14-7 in the second half. Piedmont trailed 27-14 at halftime but outscored the Gators 7-2 in the third quarter and 7-5 in the final eight minutes. Mitchell was the leading scorer with 11 points followed by Wilson with 7 and Beggs and Dunagan, 5 each.

The Lady Cougars dropped a 45-23 contest to Gatewood. Burnham was the leading scorer with 8 points for Piedmont followed by Swart and Tyler with 4 each. Carley Cain and Amy Anuszczyk both scored 2 points.

The Piedmont boys bounced back Saturday with a 47-31 victory against Brentwood. A 24-point effort by Wilson helped lead the way. Mitchell added 13 points. Davis Kimball finished with 6 points in Saturday’s game while Dunagan added 3. Tyler Cullum added a free throw.

The Lady Cougars were not as fortunate as they fell 29-18 to Brentwood. Swart and Burnham both scored 6 while Tyler, Strickland and Mahaffey each finished with 2.