Clayton State Men's Basketball

Clayton State men cannot hold off surging Armstrong Atlantic 64-60
Fields scores 18 points as Lakers fall to 12-11 overall and 5-11 in Peach Belt Conference

MORROW, Ga. – February 16, 2009 – The Achilles’ Heel lately for the Clayton State Laker men’s basketball team has been finding ways to finish off games. That was the case in point on Monday night.

The Lakers built a lead halftime, and increased it early in the second half. However, 20th-ranked Armstrong Atlantic made a late charge and pulled off a 64-60 victory over Clayton State in Peach Belt Conference action at the Athletics and Fitness Center. The defeat was the fifth straight for the Lakers, now 12-11 overall and 5-11 in the Peach Belt.

Clayton State finished off the first half on an 6-0 run as Bernard Fields had two transition dunks to give the Lakers a 32-24 lead at halftime. In the second half, Brian Kelly had a breakaway dunk to give Clayton State a 15-point lead, and a driving lay-up by Tre Goss staked the Lakers to a 48-32 lead at the 14:56 mark.

That’s when Armstrong Atlantic (19-5, 12-5 PBC) made its move. The Pirates got 3-point baskets by Kerron McKenzie and Dwight Tolbert to trim the Clayton State lead to eight points with 13:27 left. Another Tolbert 3-point basket cut the Laker lead to five points at the 11:07 mark.

Clayton State pushed the lead back to eight points on a 3-point play by Brian Kelly. But the Pirates responded as Tolbert again drained a 3-point basket, and his driving lay-up with 7:23 remaining trimmed the Laker lead to 53-51.

After Clayton State pushed the lead back to five points, Armstrong Atlantic countered with a 7-0 run. Brian Moultrie’s 3-point play tied the game at 56-56, and the Pirates then took the lead on a lay-up in transition by Calvin Wilson at the 5:22 mark.

Armstrong Atlantic stretched the lead to four points on a 3-point basket by McKenzie, but the Lakers got a running jump shot in the lane by Ricky Garrett to cut the lead to two points with 2:02 left.

The Lakers fouled Moultrie with 26 seconds remaining, and the Pirate senior forward missed the front end of a one-and-one. That gave Clayton State a final chance to either tie or possibly win. But a 3-point attempt by Fields was long, and Armstrong Atlantic got the rebound with 1.3 seconds left.

Fields paced the Lakers with 18 points, while Garrett scored 14 points. Clayton State shot 43 percent from the field and committed only seven turnovers. For Armstrong Atlantic, Tolbert scored 19 points on five 3-point baskets, and McKenzie scored 12 points off the bench.

Clayton State travels to long-time in-state rival North Georgia on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

Clayton State men drop fourth straight, 65-61 at Georgia Southwestern
Fields scores career-high 22 points as Lakers fall to 12-10 and 5-10 in Peach Belt Conference

AMERICUS, Ga. - February 11, 2009 – Missed opportunities have hurt the Clayton State Laker men’s basketball team for the last month-and-a-half of the season, and they hurt the Lakers again on Wednesday night.

Clayton State could not convert in key moments at Peach Belt Conference rival Georgia Southwestern, dropping a 65-61 decision at the Storm Dome. The defeat was the fourth straight for the Lakers, who drop to 12-10 overall and 5-10 in the Peach Belt.

"This has been the story of our season – missed opportunities for us and the other team capitalizing," said Clayton State head coach Gordon Gibbons. "Our plan was solid, we adjusted well from the last game, but missed some wide-open shots.

"The one thing about this team is there is no quit in them."

The Lakers overcame a hot start by the Hurricanes. Georgia Southwestern got off to a 17-9 start on four 3-point baskets by Anthony Sargent. The Hurricanes stretched the lead to 15 points twice, including 32-17 on two free throws by Evan Mobley with 6:31 remaining.

But Clayton State answered with a 19-4 run in the final five minutes. Bernard Fields started the rally with a 3-point play, followed by consecutive lay-ups by Freddie Williams. Will Lewis then nailed a baseline jumper, and Jaquas Dobbs scored six straight points. He tied the game 36-36 on a lay-up with 1:04 remaining.

But the Hurricanes took a 39-36 halftime lead on a last-second 3-point basket by Damayrius Adside.

The Lakers tied the game early in the second half before Georgia Southwestern went on an 11-2 run to lead 51-42 at the 12:34 mark on a 3-point play by Chris Rawls. The Hurricanes stretched the lead to 10 points 56-46 on a 3-point basket by Roc Roderick with 9:27 remaining.

The closest Clayton State cut the deficit was three points on a driving lay-up by Brian Kelly with five seconds remaining. However, Sargent iced the victory for Georgia Southwestern with a free throw with four seconds remaining.

Fields scored a career-high 22 points for Clayton State, while Williams scored 11 points. The Lakers shot only 2-for-22 (nine percent) from 3-point range. Sargent paced Georgia Southwestern with 18 points.

Clayton State plays host to Armstrong Atlantic on Monday at 7:30 p.m.