March 16, 2008

Clayton State Defeats Lenoir-Rhyne Advancing To The Region Final, 83-69, In Overtime

Augusta Ga. - The Clayton State Lakers did not allow the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears to score a single point in overtime as they advanced to the 2008 South Atlantic Region championship game with an 83-69 win on Sunday night. The Lakers (19-14), who will make their first appearance in the regional championship, outscored the Bears 14-0 in the overtime period.

Clayton State will face Augusta State in Tuesday’s region championship game with the winner advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass.

Lenoir-Rhyne trailed by eight in the second half with 4:29 to play when they began their comeback with five straight points from junior guard Elliott McDowell (Canton, N.C./Pisgah HS). Senior forward Reggie Bratton's (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte HS) layup with 2:11 to play cut the lead to two, but Clayton State boosted that back to four from the free throw line. With under a minute to play, McDowell hit one of two free throws to cut the lead to three.

The lead was still three when L-R got the ball with 28 seconds left. After trying to free up a perimeter shooter, senior forward Josh Kindred (Holly Springs, N.C./Fuquay-Varina HS) sent the game to overtime with 4.8 seconds left, making only his second three-pointer of the season.

The Clayton State defense took over from there, holding Lenoir-Rhyne (23-7) to 0-9 shooting in the overtime period, including one sequence of three missed shots in the same Bears possession. Clayton State’s Michael Sloan scored six of the Lakers’ 14 points in the OT, all from the free throw line. Clayton State as a team hit all 10 of their attempts from the line in the extra period.

Lenoir-Rhyne shot 74 percent (14-19) from the field in the first half, yet still trailed 34-31. The Bears jumped to a seven-point lead in the first seven minutes as junior guard Josh Rudder (Graham, N.C./Southern Alamance HS) scored on back-to-back possessions. But Clayton State came back to tie the game at 12 following a Jerome Boyd layup and took their first lead of the game with 4:22 to play as Will Lewis drained a three-pointer.

The Lakers hit six of nine three-pointers in the first half and shot 54 percent (13-24) from the field. Sloan hit three of those and had nine points at the break. L-R was 1-for-6 from long range in the first.

Sloan led all players with 21 points in the game, hitting six of 10 from the field including three three-pointers. Jerome Boyd added 14 points while Will Lewis scored 12 and Tracy Williams 10 and five rebounds. The Lakers shot 57 percent for the game, their best shooting percentage of the season.

After their great first half, the Bears cooled to shoot 44 percent in the second half and 47 percent for the game. McDowell led the way with 17 points while Rudder added 14 and Kindred 13 points and eight rebounds.

(Story courtesy of the Augusta State sports information office)

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