RALEIGH – The William Peace University men's basketball program will host Piedmont College in the Pacers first USA South Conference game of the year on Saturday. The game will be designated as Camper Day for the campers who participate in the men's basketball camps.
The Pacers are coming into the game against Piedmont College off an 86-74 loss to Hampden-Sydney College on Wednesday night. William Peace will look to bounce back against the 3-4 Lions in the Hermann Athletic Center at 2 p.m. WPU had its worst overall game of the year on Wednesday connecting on only 24 of 62 shot attempts and allowing Hampden-Sydney to shoot 54.9% from the floor. This was coming off an offensive clinic the Pacers put on Roanoke College in which William Peace broke several school records.
The Pacers are being led by a trio of seniors in
Chris Thomas,
Ryan Emfinger and
Jalen Vince. The trio combine for 41.2 points per game. Though the team is leaning on its upperclassmen to carry the load, the underclassmen have bolstered the offense with three-point threat
Camden Ferguson and efficient scorer
Jay Hicks.
Dakota King is also providing solid play and is the reigning USA South Rookie of the Year.
The Pacers are off to the best start in school history at a 6-2 record before heading into the first conference game of the year. The Pacers have done so with some great defense over the course of the first eight games. The Pacers are averaging more than eight steals per game and have outrebounded opponents by an average of 5.5 per game.
PIEDMONT VIEW
Piedmont is only 3-4 on the year, but the Lions have won two straight and three of their four last games. The only loss the Lions incurred came at the hands of Emory, a close 65-59 total. Emory is the only common opponent that William Peace and Piedmont have this year (William Peace lost 100-80 to Emory).
The Lions are led by senior Kelly Assinesi who is leading or close to leading the Lions in nearly every statistical category. Assisnesi is third on the team at 10.4 points per game, but distributes the ball superbly well with 34 assists in just seven games. He's also shooting 52% from the floor and grabbing five boards per game.
Justin Vallejo is the Lions leading scorer and rebounder at 16.3 points and 8.6 boards per game. The 6-6 forward will be a difficult matchup for the Pacers. Chase England is the second leading scorer at 14.1.
The 2 p.m. tipoff will be
live streamed and
live stats will be provided by GoPeacePacers.com.
