GREENWOOD----Lander (20-10) outscored 25th-ranked Clayton State (23-7) 15-1 over the final 5:32 to win the 2007 Peach Belt Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Championship 75-61 on Sunday evening at Horne Arena. The Bearcats remain a perfect at 3-0 in PBC Tournament Championship appearances, picking up their first PBC post-season crown since winning back-to-back titles in 1994-95. Clayton State suffered the setback in their first-ever final game appearance. Both teams will advance to next week's NCAA Tournament with Lander receiving the automatic bid.
Scoring the first six points of the second half, the Lakers built a 39-31 advantage, but a short-handed Lander squad battled back within 43-42 with 13:57 to play on a Michael Griffin free throw. The two teams then stayed within three points of each other down the stretch.
John Beugnot's offensive putback of a Michael Sloan missed three-pointer with 5:32 remaining tied the game for the final time at 60-60. On the ensuing possession, Zach Evans slashed inside for a lay-up to start the decisive 15-1 run. The key play, however, occurred at the 4:48 mark. After Chris Milner blocked Todd McLaurin's tying lay-up attempt, Jason Davis drilled a three-pointer in transition from the far corner to ignite the crowd and give Lander its largest lead to that point 65-60.
The Lakers missed their final 12 shots from the field, finishing 23-of-65 for the game for 35.4 percent. Becoming just the third host team to win the PBC Tournament on their home floor, Lander connected on 9-of-21 from downtown and shot 48.9 percent for the contest.
In a well-played first half, Clayton State committed just one turnover in 20 minutes of action, taking a 33-31 lead at the break. The Lakers built their largest lead of the game at 3:40 of the first half, scoring nine-straight to surge in front 30-19. Jerome Boyd had back-to-back lay-ups during the spurt, finishing with 10 off the bench.
Lander closed the final 3:20 of the opening stanza on a 12-3 run keyed by seven from Dane Sparrow to trail by just a bucket as Clayton State misfired on four of their final four shots.
Griffin poured in a game-high 24 to go with seven rebounds and seven assists in earning Tournament MVP honors while Evans, who finished with 16, joined him on the All-Tournament Team. Davis added 12. McLaurin, Sloan, Bryan Taylor (Armstrong Atlantic State), and AJ Bowman (Augusta State) also earned All-Tournament honors.
More PBC Tournament links: Photographs by Shawn Knox ; Peach Belt Conference.
