Clayton State wins 76-75 thriller on Beugnot’s late 3-point basket
Senior forward scores 20 points as sixth-ranked Lakers edge Catawba

SALISBURY, N.C. --- DECEMBER 2, 2006 --- Coming off a convincing victory over Lenoir-Rhyne on Friday in the Walt Baker Classic, the Clayton State Laker men’s basketball team needed some late second heroics on Saturday against host Catawba.

John Beugnot provided those heroics.

The senior forward drained a 3-point basket with three seconds remaining, lifting Clayton State to a thrilling 76-75 victory over Catawba in the final game of the Walt Baker Classic at Goodman Gymnasium. Sixth-ranked Clayton State is now 4-0 overall after the weekend sweep over the two South Atlantic Conference squads.

“That was the kind of game a team needs to experience early in the season,” said Clayton State head coach Gordon Gibbons. “We needed a big play in the end and got it. It was a great victory against a strong team.”

Beugnot’s game-winner, his fourth of the game, ended a possible upset bid from Catawba, which had grabbed a 75-73 lead on freshman Antonio Houston’s four-point play with 1:55 remaining. That play capped a 15-4 run by the Tribe to take the lead. Houston had a chance to possibly seal the deal for Catawba, but missed on a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left.

Following the two missed free throws, Clayton State set up the final set of plays. Michael Sloan penetrated the lane and dished out to Beugnot for the game-winning 3-point basket.

The see-saw battle saw 13 lead changes. Catawba jumped to a quick 13-5 lead, keyed by three-pointers from Houston, Brian Graves and Jason Diggs. Clayton State, however, rallied and took a 37-33 lead at the break.

Catawba rallied from an early eight-point second-half deficit and went on top 51-48 with 13:33 left after consecutive baskets by Diggs. Brian Kelly put the Lakers back on top at the 12:12 mark and Jerome Boyd followed with two baskets to push the Clayton State lead to 56-51. The advantage would grow to 69-60 with 5:39 left before the Catawba rally to take back the lead.

“It was certainly a game of spurts and a lot of ebb and flow in the second half,” Gibbons said.

Beugnot paced Clayton State in scoring with 20 points on 7-for-11 from the field and 4-for-4 from 3-point range. Boyd scored 14 points off the bench on 7-for-8 shooting from the field and Brandon Kelley scored 13 points. The Lakers shot 57 percent from the field, including an impressive 63 percent in the second half.

Houston scored 23 points to lead all scorers for Catawba, while Chris Wooldridge added a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Diggs followed with 12 and Graves had 10 points.

Clayton State returns to the Athletics and Fitness Center on Wednesday for a big showdown against in-state rival West Georgia at 7:30 p.m.