UNC-Pembroke shocks Clayton State men on last-second shot 53-50
Sloan scores 12 points as Lakers fall to 10-9 and 6-6 in Peach Belt Conference

PEMBROKE, N.C. – February 2, 2008 – The UNC-Pembroke Braves closed out the game on an 8-0 and got a last-second fall away 3-point basket by Jarrell Hunter to pull off a 53-50 stunning victory over the Clayton State Lakers on Saturday at the English Jones Center.

The defeat snaps a two-game winning streak for Clayton State, now 10-9 overall and 6-6 in the Peach Belt Conference. The defeat also snapped an 11-game winning streak for Clayton State against UNC-Pembroke.

Clayton State appeared to have the game under control in the second half as the Lakers held UNC-Pembroke to only four free throws over the first 16 minutes of the second half. Clayton State, meanwhile, started the half on an 8-0 run and built a 45-37 lead on Bernard Fields’ lay-up with 5:54 remaining.

UNC-Pembroke finally got its first field goal of the half on a Zack Honeycutt with 4:39 remaining. The Braves then trimmed the Clayton State lead to two points before Fields gave the Lakers a 50-45 lead on a 3-point basket at the 2:40 remaining.

That, however, was the last points of the games for Clayton State. Cortez Brown started the UNC-Pembroke rally with a driving lay-up in transition, and then Jonathan Hart tied the game at 50-50 with three free throws with 26 seconds remaining.

Clayton State had one final chance to win, but Tracy Williams’ jump shot from 18 feet was short, and the Braves got the rebound and a timeout with 1.4 seconds remaining. That set up Hunter’s buzzer-beating shot.

Michael Sloan paced Clayton State with 12 points, while Fields and Williams each scored nine points.

For UNC-Pembroke (7-11, 2-9 PBC), Brown scored 14 points, including 12 points in the first half in which the Braves shot a whopping 58 percent from the field and 63 percent from 3-point range to lead 31-28 at halftime. Hart and Hunter each scored 13 points for UNC-Pembroke.

Clayton State travels to in-state rival Columbus State for a key Peach Belt Conference showdown on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m.