AIKEN, S.C. – It took three overtimes and a clutch
foul-line jumper from All-Peach Belt Conference (PBC) Team member
Michael Sloan, but Clayton State University took home its first PBC
Tournament Championship with an 89-87 win over host USC Aiken. The
Lakers are the first team to win four games in the PBC Men’s
Basketball Tournament by knocking out the No. 1, No. 2 and
No. 3 seed along the way.
After Jeremy Fears hit a free-throw to tie the game 87-87, Sloan
dribbled around a screen from the left wing, got into the key and
knocked down a foul-line jumper for the eventual game-winning
points with 2.7 ticks left. A desparation three by Fears fell well
short at the buzzer.
The teams got increasingly cautious as the game drug along. Each
team had nine in the first overtime, four in the second overtime,
and Clayton out-scored the Pacers 5-3 in the third extra frame to
receive the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA
Tournament.
Leading Clayton in points was Bernard Fields with 20, aided by 18
from reserve forward Will Lewis. Sloan’s game-winner gave him
16, and Tracy Williams fouled out in regulation with 10 and six
assists.
The Lakers shot an astronomical 58.6 percent from the floor
(17-29) in the first half, and added a perfect 7-of-7 from the
line. Lewis led Clayton State at the break with 12 points. Fields
added another 10 to the cause. USCA’s PBC Co-Player of the
Year Chris Commons led all scorers at the half with 15 points. The
forward managed just one rebound in the first stanza.
The back-and-forth game was busted open by a 16-3 run starting at
the 10:43 mark of the first half. A three-point play by Fields
started the run, with a Tracy Williams layup capping it with 4:29
left in the half as the Lakers led the game 44-36.
The Lakers nearly gave away the game after they were up by 14 with
7:31 left at 65-51. The Pacers’ home crowd got them back in
it, aiding a 19-4 run capped by a pair of Commons free-throws.
Clayton’s Cordaryl Ballard hit one of two attempts to get the
tie at regulation.
Commons was held scoreless during all three extra frames, locked
in most of the time by the Lakers’ Brian Kelly. The game was
the longest in PBC Tournament history, and the first overtime
championship game in league history as well.
Kingsley Oguchi hit 6-of-13 three-point attempts en route to a
game-high 24 points. Commons added 21, with Job Casimir adding 18
and Jeremy Fears adding 15 points with seven boards and six
assists.
The Lakers improve to 17-14 on the season, while the Pacers drop
to 27-3.
2008 Peach Belt Conference All-Tournament team:
Jakirra Millsap, North Georgia
Aaron Clark, GCSU
Job Casimir, USC Aiken
Chris Commons, USC Aiken
Bernard Fields, Clayton State
Tracy Williams, Clayton State
Tournament MVP:
Tracy Williams, Clayton State
Boxscore
Game 18 – Clayton State vs. USC Aiken – Quotes
Clayton State Head Coach Gordon Gibbons:
“We looked forward, believe it or not, to playing the early
game (of the week). I thought our team was playing extremely well.
What we’ve really done, we’ve really stayed together as
a team and played really well on the defensive end. Tonight, the
overtimes, we hold them to 33 percent. You kind of knew they would
have a run. We had just hoped to build a lead, withstand the run
and have a chance to win at the end. We had that.”
“It’s a tremendous win for our program. We started to
see it come together in January. We’d take two steps forward
and one step back. But for have it all to come together this week
is great for our program and the definite high point in our
program.”
(On Advancing to the NCAA Tournament): “I think the
confidence of this team is at a season-long high. We’ll enjoy
it for two days: the rest of today, and all of tomorrow. Then
we’ll bring them back down to earth and we’ll be
ready.”
Clayton State’ Michael Sloan (On hitting the game-winning
shot):
“They say when you’re open, it’s the easiest
shot. But I’m here to tell you …its not. I had to
concentrate as much as I’ve ever had to my whole
life.”
“Relief. Happiness. I think every good feeling you can have,
I had when that ball went through.”
Clayton State’s Bernard Fields:
“It’s a real good feeling. We just grind it out. It
was looking like an ugly season, but we pulled together at the
right time, everybody’s on the same page. It’s a great
feeling.”
USC Aiken Head Coach Vince Alexander
“That was one of the best games I’ve ever been
involved with. You had two really good teams on the floor and I
thought both teams played hard. I thought there were some things we
definitely could have done better, but they probably have some
things they say they could have done better.”
“We’re 27-3, so we have to be doing something
right.”
“We’re winners, we’re not going to quit.
We’re going to keep fighting. Last time we lost a game, we
won 14 straight. I asked them ‘what are we going to do? Pack
up our bags and say, aw, this season’s over?’ No. I
guarantee you that you’ll see a different team next
week.”
Baseball
About the PBC
