|
The victory, the fifth in the last six games for Clayton State, improves the Lakers to 10-8 overall and 6-5 in the Peach Belt Conference. Clayton State has now won three of its four games and six of its last eight against Armstrong Atlantic. For the sixth straight game, Clayton State shot over 45 percent from the field for the game, this time shooting 51 percent from the field against Armstrong Atlantic. In addition, the Lakers held the Pirates to only 35 percent shooting from the field, including only 6-for-22 (27 percent) from 3-point range. However, Armstrong Atlantic gained the upper hand in the first half as senior guard Jamaal Galloway drained three straight 3-point baskets, wiping out a six-point Laker lead and giving Armstrong Atlantic a 28-27 lead with 4:16 remaining. The lead changed hands five more times before T.T. Hall nailed a 3-point basket from the corner to give the Pirates a 37-35 lead at halftime. Clayton State started the second half by extending its lead back to six points. A 3-point basket by Ricky Garrett gave the Lakers a 43-37 lead at the 18-minute mark. However, Armstrong Atlantic again fought its way back and tied the game 52-52 on a four-point play by William Kane with 9:30 remaining. That was the key moment in the game, as Armstrong Atlantic would go the next eight minutes without a field goal. Clayton State responded with a 12-1 run over the next seven minutes to take a 13-point lead. Tracy Williams started the rally with a driving lay-up to reclaim the lead for Clayton state, followed by a jump shot by Will Lewis and lay-ups by Jerome Boyd and Brian Kelly off missed shots. Two free throws each by Michael Sloan and Williams gave Clayton State a 66-53 lead with 2:28 remaining. Armstrong Atlantic had no quit in it, as a 3-point basket by Corey Johnson and a lay-up by Franchot Brown off a Laker turnover cut the lead to 66-60 with 1:23 remaining. That, however, was as close the Pirates would get. In his head-to-head showdown against Kane, Williams had a tremendous game for Clayton State with 16 points, six assists and four rebounds. Kelly also scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Sloan scored 11 points and Boyd added 10 points off the bench. For Armstrong Atlantic (11-6, 5-5 PBC), Brown and Patrick Sanou each scored 14 points, while Sanou had a double-double with 10 rebounds. The big difference was Clayton State’s defensive effort against Kane. The senior point guard came into the game leading the nation in assists at eight assists a game. However, Clayton State held Kane to six points and only four assists, while he also had five turnovers. Clayton State hits the road this weekend for a key Peach Belt Conference match-up at UNC-Pembroke on Saturday at 4 p.m. |
