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is championship game bound!Paced by four players scoring in double-figures and some stellar defense down the stretch, Clayton State won a 72-69 thriller over Augusta State in the semifinals of the 2007 Peach Belt Conference Tournament on Saturday night at Lander. With the victory, 25th-ranked Clayton State (23-6) advances to the Peach Belt Tournament title game for the first time in program history. The Lakers will meet host Lander on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. in the championship at Lander’s Horne Arena. However, Saturday’s victory was the second in three games this season for Clayton State over Augusta State in the budding rivalry between the Peach Belt’s two Top 25-ranked teams. “This was obviously a huge win for us,” said Clayton State head coach Gordon Gibbons. “We executed tonight on offense pretty consistently throughout the game and when we shoot close to 50 percent, we’re doing the job on defensive end. I thought our guards did a great job of controlling the game.” For the game, Clayton State shot 47 percent from the field, but 50 percent (10-for-20) from 3-point range. In addition, the Lakers took good care of the basketball, committing only 10 turnovers. The first half was as tightly contested as could get with seven ties and seven lead-changes for a 38-38 tie at halftime. However, Clayton State scored the first seven points of the second half, and then built as much as a 10-point lead on three occasions. Brandon Kelley’s two free throws at the 9:15 mark put the Lakers ahead 64-54. However, Augusta State rallied behind the outside shooting of guard Daniel Dixon. The Jaguars went on a 13-2 run and took a 67-66 lead on two Ben Madgen free throws with 2:41 remaining. Clayton State responded by out-scoring the Jaguars 6-2 down the stretch. Kelley gave the Lakers a 3-point lead with 20 seconds remaining. Augusta State had a final chance to tie, but Clayton State’s John Beugnot stripped the ball from the Jaguars’ Tyrekus Bowman with five seconds remaining, getting fouled in the process. Beugnot missed the front end of the one-and-one, and Augusta State again had a final chance. Dixon connected on what appeared to be a game-tying 3-point basket, but Jaguar head coach Dip Metress called timeout a split second before Dixon made the shot. On the ensuing inbounds pass, Clayton State’s Jeff Trotter stripped the ball from Bowman as time expired. “Augusta State is the best-executing offensive team in the region, but what we are is a defensive team,” Gibbons said. “We told our guys that we need to hold Augusta State to around 30 points a half. That was the story of this game.” Todd McLaurin scored 24 points for the Lakers on 4-for-8 shooting from 3-point range, while Michael Sloan scored 16 points and Kelley scored 14 points. Beugnot added 10 points for the Lakers. Tyrekus Bowman paced Augusta State (23-6) with 26 points, followed by Dixon with 14 points and Garret Siler scored 13 points. The key for Clayton State was the defensive job on Madgen. The Peach Belt Freshman of the Year entered the game averaging 16 points a game, but was held to four points by the Lakers. |
