GREENWOOD, S.C. – Lander guard J.T. Greene's game-tying 3-point shot attempt with two seconds left bounced off the rim and Clayton State survived the upset-minded Bearcats 64-61 in Peach Belt Conference men's basketball Monday night at Horne Arena.
Clayton State improved to 13-3 overall and 6-3 in the Peach Belt. Lander fell to 4-11, 1-7.
Brandon Kelley led the Lakers with 17 points and hit two free throws with 19 seconds left to increase a one-point lead to three at 64-61. Todd McLaurin added 16 points and Aristide Sawadogo 13 for Clayton State.
Jarred Jackson led the Bearcats with 14 points and Scottie Smith added 13.
Lander trailed 62-57 with 25 seconds left when Emanuel Hodrea was fouled attempting a 3-point shot. He was awarded three free throws and made one. Teammate Michael Griffin grabbed the rebound of Hodrea's second miss, and tossed the ball out to Jahi Rawlings who hit a 3-pointer to pull the Bearcats within 62-61 with 22 seconds left.
After Kelley's two free throws, Lander pushed the ball up the court for an attempt at a game-tying shot. The Bearcats nearly turned the ball over with 4.5 seconds left but had the possession arrow in their favor. Then Greene's long 3-point attempt bounced off the rim.
The 7-foot-1 Sawadogo gave the Lakers a 60-53 lead with 2:26 left. But Lander continued to battle and pulled within 60-57 on Hodrea's 3-pointer with 1:58 to go. The Bearcats had a missed shot and a turnover in their next two possessions and were unable to complete the comeback.
Clayton State used a 15-3 run to break a 35-all tie, taking a 50-38 lead with less than eight minutes to go, and Kelley's 3-pointer gave the Lakers a 57-46 lead with 4:55 left. But Griffin hit a 3-pointer to ignite Lander's comeback attempt.
After Clayton State scored seven unanswered points to take a 16-9 lead with 11:44 left in the first half, the Bearcats took a 24-20 advantage with a 15-4 run. Rawlings started the spurt with a lay-up, Derek Brooks hit two 3-pointers, Zoran Jelenic had a basket, and Jackson made two free throws to give Lander the four-point lead with 5:22 left. But the Bearcats went scoreless the final 4:13 of the first half and T.J. Waldon gave the Lakers a 28-26 halftime lead with a tip-in at the buzzer.
For the game, Lander hit 17-of-48 shots from the floor (35 percent), 19-of-24 from the free-throw line (79 percent), and 8-of-23 from 3-point range (35 percent). Clayton State made 21-of-43 shots from the floor (49 percent), 19-of-28 from the line (68 percent), and 3-of-6 from behind the arc (50 percent). The Lakers out-rebounded Lander 34-28. Clayton State had 17 rebounds while the Bearcats had only 13.
