PBC Tournament - Strong Second Half Propels Clayton State Past GSW

AIKEN, S.C. - Reigning PBC Tournament champion Clayton State took its first step to defending its title with a 63-48 victory over tournament newcomer Georgia Southwestern State on Wednesday evening in first-round action of the 2009 Peach Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Championship.

The Lakers (15-13) advance to the PBC Quarterfinals where they will face host and No. 2 seed USC Aiken on Friday, March 6, at 7:00 p.m. Georgia Southwestern State sees its season end with a 10-18 record.

Clayton State opened up a four-point lead at halftime, 33-29, thanks to a pressure defense that forced 12 turnovers by the Hurricanes. Brian Kelly made 6-of-8 shots in the first half for 12 points to lead the Lakers, while Georgia Southwestern State kept things close by making 6-of-10 three-pointers in the first period.

The Lakers scored the first five points of the second half on a Bernard Fields layup and a Ricky Garrett three-pointer to stretch that lead out to nine, but back-to-back three-pointers by Evan Mobley and Anthony Sargent cut the Clayton State advantage to three, 38-35, with 15:53 left.

A Trey Goss three-pointer made the lead two possessions again, where it stayed until a breakaway dunk by Ricky Garrett extended the Laker lead to eight, 53-45, with 6:21 left. Georgia Southwestern State made just one basket over the final six minutes, allowing the Lakers to pull away for the victory.

Kelly finished the night with a game-high 19 points for the Lakers, while Jaquas Dobbs and Will Lewis each added 12 points. The Lakers forced 22 turnovers in the game and registered 12 steals.

Georgia Southwestern State was led by PBC Freshman of the Year Evan Mobley’s 13 points and Anthony Sargent’s 11 points. The Hurricanes hit 9-of-27 three-pointers and shot just one free throw in the contest.

Boxscore

PBC Tournament – Game 4 – Clayton State vs. Georgia Southwestern

GSW Coach Mike Leeder

“We’re very honored to be here in our first chance to qualify for the conference tournament. This was just a baby step for our program and hopefully we can come back here next year and with a little bit of luck and some good recruiting maybe we can find a way to get a win. Its going to take a little bit of time, but we’re heading in the right direction.”

“We didn’t shoot the ball well and we turned the ball over too much in both haves. We didn’t get to the foul line, we didn’t drive the ball like we usually do.”

GSW senior guard Anthony Sargent

On reaching the PBC Tournament. “That means a lot, especially for a program that’s just coming into the tournament. We are still really proud of each other as a team even though we didn’t get a win in the tournament. Making the tournament in our first year, not too many teams do that.”

Clayton State head coach Gordon Gibbons

“GSW is a very good offensive team and they match up well with us. Out goal tonight was to play what Clayton State is: a defensive team. I thought our defense really took over and our guys played well together.”

“Even though we haven’t had a season that has gone as well as we would like, we have stayed together and we’re playing our best basketball right now.”

“This team has come together differently than last year’s team, but the parallel is that we’re playing our best now.”

On facing USC Aiken “We feel like we’ll be ready to go out there and defend and it will be an extremely physical game.”

Clayton State’s Brian Kelly
“We’re really confident. We had the experience from last year and we basically have the same team back, so we know what to expect.”
On facing USC Aiken “Its just like every game, really: we focus on our defense.”

Clayton State’s Bernard Fields
“You have to forget about the regular season. This is a new season, everybody is 0-0.”