Men's Basketball | 1/18/2014 7:37:00 PM

Box Score FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Bryan Hockaday hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final 12 seconds, and Tabias Hilliard poured in a career-high 25 points as the Methodist men's basketball team defeated Piedmont, 65-63, on Saturday evening at the Riddle Center.
 
With 1:15 to play, the Monarchs (5-10, 3-2 USA South) trailed 63-60 following a pair of free throws by Piedmont's (6-7, 1-2 USA South) Chris Meeks. On MU's ensuing possession, Hockaday converted a layup and was fouled by Chase England with 1:00 on the clock, but failed to complete the three-point play, leaving the Lions with a 63-62 lead. Safari Smith missed a three-pointer with the shot clock winding down on Piedmont's next possession and following a missed layup by Hilliard, a foul on PC's Brian Edwards sent Hockaday to the line for a pair with 12 seconds to play. He converted both attempts to give the Monarchs a 64-63 lead.
 
On the other end, England drew a foul on an inbounds play but missed the first free throw. After missing the second, and failing to tie the game, Meeks came down with an offensive rebound but was promptly fouled and sent back to the line with one second remaining. He made good on 1-of-2 attempts for a 65-63 MU lead, and following a PC timeout the Lions were unable to get off a shot before the final buzzer.
 
The Monarchs put themselves in position to win late after trailing by eight points at the half (32-24). After the Lions extended their lead to 10 points (41-31) with 15:53 left to play, Methodist used a 15-3 run to assume a 46-44 lead on Desmond Parker's layup with 10:15 to play. Methodist did much of its damage at the line during the run, hitting all seven of its attempts from the charity stripe, while limiting Piedmont to 1-of-6 shooting from the floor.
 
Methodist pushed its lead out to five points (59-54), sandwiching a Hockaday layup between a dunk and three-pointer from Keith Corbett with 4:52 to play. Piedmont answered with a 9-1 spurt to take the aforementioned 63-60 lead. The Lions knocked down 7-of-8 free-throws over that span, including four straight from Meeks before MU rallied for the win.
 
In the first half, Piedmont took advantage of a 2-of-11 shooting stretch for MU to turn a 12-9 deficit with 14:17 on the clock into a 27-15 lead by the 4:50 mark. Brian Edwards led the Lions' charge, scoring eight points. Piedmont then carried the eight-point lead into the break.
 
For the game, both teams struggled from the floor. Methodist shot 33.8 percent from the floor (22-65), including just 1-of-12 from beyond the arc (.083). Piedmont made good on 33.9 percent of its field-goal attempts (19-56). The Lions shot 21-of-29 from the line (.724), compared to 62.5 percent (20-32) for the Monarchs. The Lions also out-rebounded MU, 51-37, but the Monarchs hounded PC into 16 turnovers, while committing just five themselves.
 
Hilliard's career-high point total came on 8-of-17 shooting from the floor and 9-of-10 shooting at the charity stripe. He added four assists and three steals. Hockaday finished with a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds, his ninth such effort this season, and he also chipped in four blocks. Parker added 13 points and five rebounds.
 
Piedmont was led by Edwards, who finished with 19 points and nine rebounds. England added 11 points and eight boards, and Jessie Jenkins chipped in seven points to go with a team-best 12 boards.
 
Methodist is back in action on Wednesday when it hosts William Peace at 7:30 pm.