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In what will be arguably the best ever Peach Belt Conference Tournament championship games, seventh-seeded Clayton State did the impossible on Sunday with an epic 89-87 triple-overtime thriller over top-seeded USC Aiken at the Convocation Center. Clayton State, which improves to 17-14 overall, wins the Peach Belt Conference Tournament for the first time in program history. In addition, the Lakers also earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Division II National Tournament, their second straight trip to the “Big Dance.” Clayton State will officially receive its NCAA bid later tonight. Clayton State became the first ever team to win the Peach Belt Conference Tournament after having to play the first round games and winning the next three. The Lakers also knocked off the second-seeded team (Augusta State), the third-seeded team (Georgia College) and the top-seeded team (USC Aiken) to pull off the championship. Playing before a near-capacity crowd on USC Aiken’s home court, the two teams traded leads in the third overtime before Fears tied the game for USC Aiken on a free throw with 29 seconds remaining. The Lakers had the final shot, and senior guard Michael Sloan came through with three seconds remaining, hitting a jump shot from the free throw line to give the Lakers the two point lead. USC Aiken committed a turnover when Job Casimir through the ball away on the inbounds pass, but the Lakers gave the ball right back to the Pacers on an illegal screen against Kelly with 2.7 seconds remaining. Fears’ desperation 3-point attempt missed as time expired. Clayton State controlled the game for much of the regulation period, even building a 14-point lead with 7:31 remaining. However, USC Aiken rallied with a 20-6 run down the stretch to force overtime when Clayton State missed two shots at winning in regulation. Clayton State led by as much as four points in the first overtime, but USC Aiken tied it at 80-80 on a 3-point basket by Jeremy Fears with 1:59 remaining. The Pacers had a final shot at the win, but Laker forward Brian Kelly rejected Fears’ running shot in the lane as time expired. Neither team made much noise in the second overtime, but Clayton State had the final shot at winning in the end. But Trey Goss’ jump shot from the top of the key was off as time expired. Bernard Fields scored 20 points to pace Clayton State as four Lakers scored in double-figures. Will Lewis was tremendous off the bench with 18 points, while Sloan scored 16 points and Tracy Williams added 10 points and six assists. The Lakers played the entire overtime period without Williams, who fouled out with 2:29 remaining in regulation. For USC Aiken (27-3), Kingsley Oguchi scored 24 points on six 3-point baskets, followed by Chris Commons with 21 points. Casimir scored 18 points, and Fears added 15 points. Williams was selected Peach Belt Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player, averaging 16 points in Clayton State’s four games. Fields was also selected to the All-Tournament team. |
