DEMOREST, Ga. -- Covenant men's basketball could not overcome a strong shooting performance by Piedmont on Wednesday evening, falling 97-73 at Cave Arena in Demorest.

Pierce Smith led the way for the Scots (8-5, 3-7 CCS) with 13 points and seven boards, while Jake Stephens added 11 and Korbin Long 10. 

Covenant got off to a good start early on, getting triples from Long and Luuk Dusek, along with a pair of free throws from Derrius Teagle, to lead 8-4 early. They then put together another stretch later in the half with seven unanswered, as the second unit was at it again, getting five from Noah Pence. 

The Lions (11-12, 2-7 CCS) countered with a 16-0 run midway through the half though, and held on to lead by 20 at the break.

After Piedmont scored six consecutive points to open the second half, Smith and Logan Patterson tried to get the Scots back in it with four unanswered points. 

However, Covenant could do no more than trade baskets the rest of the way, as the Lions came away with the win. Cole Carroll and Luke Deininger did make some late contributions, however, engineering a 6-0 run to close the game.

Israel Hall led Piedmont with 21 points and 10 boards, while Fisher Darden and Dylan Patrick added 15 each, as the Lions shot 51.3 percent from the field over the course of the game.

UP NEXT

The Scots will honor three seniors on Saturday when they host LaGrange at 4 p.m. inside Barnes PE Center.

CONNECT WITH THE SCOTS

Be sure to follow the Scots all season long on athletics.covenant.edu and on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for up-to-date scores, news and other information.