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 MORROW,
Ga. --- DECEMBER 6, 2006 --- There’s never a dull moment when
Clayton State
and West Georgia tangle in men’s basketball, and Wednesday night’s game
at the Athletics and Fitness Center is another that will be stored in the
archives as a “Classic.”
Clayton State’s Brandon Kelley drained a 12-foot baseline jump shot with
11 seconds remaining and Lakers held on for a thrilling 70-69 overtime
victory over rival West Georgia. The victory improves fourth-ranked
Clayton State to 5-0 overall, and the Lakers are now 6-6 lifetime
against their non-conference in-state rivals at the Athletics and
Fitness Center.
This was typical Clayton State-West Georgia as neither team was able to
gain control. After being tied 38-38 at halftime, Clayton State came out
and built an eight-point lead early. Jerome Boyd’s lay-up at the 17:25
mark gave the Lakers a 47-39 lead.
However, West Georgia rallied, cutting the lead to two points on six
occasions. The Wolves then took their first lead of the second half
58-57 on a Terrance Hundley 3-point basket with 8:26 remaining. Clayton
State went up 65-62 on a John Beugnot lay-up with 3:58 remaining, but
West Georgia answered with a Jonathan Smith 33-point basket on the
ensuing possession.
Neither team, however, scored in the remaining three minutes of
regulation. West Georgia had one final chance to win, but Hundley’s
lay-up was off at the buzzer.
In the overtime period, West Georgia struck quickly twice to lead 69-65
with 3:14 remaining. However, Clayton State trimmed the lead to one
point on a lay-up by Luis Rodriguez and a free throw by Beugnot with
1:17 remaining. West Georgia’s Paul Harper missed a jump shot with 46
seconds remaining, giving the Lakers a final opportunity to prevail.
After a pair of timeouts, the Lakers had the ball underneath with 21
seconds remaining. After taking the inbounds pass, Kelley faked to the
top and then spun to the baseline for the game-winning jump shot over
the out-stretched arms of West Georgia’s Michael Lytle.
The Wolves had a final opportunity with less than 10 seconds remaining,
but Lytle’s 17-foot jump shot from the left corner was off at the
buzzer.
Beugnot had a tremendous outing for Clayton State, recording a
double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Kelley scored 18 points on
6-for-7 shooting from the free throw line, while Boyd and Michael Sloan
each added nine points.
Harper paced West Georgia (4-4) with 15 points, followed by Hundley with
14 points and Henrick Foster added 13 points. The Wolves shot 75 percent
(15-for-20) from the free throw line.
Clayton State plays host to Carver on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the
Athletics and Fitness Center.
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