Clayton State men fall to Columbus State 89-71 in regular season finale
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clayton St. (13-13, 9-10 PBC) | 35 | 36 | 71 |
| Columbus St. (13-13, 8-11 PBC) | 36 | 53 | 89 |
| Columbus, GA...Lumpkin Center | |||
| Clayton St. | Columbus St. |
|---|---|
| Pts: Andrew Bachanov - 15 | Pts: Rory Miller - 23 |
| Reb: Andrew Bachanov - 12 | Reb: Jermaine Morgan - 9 |
| Ast: Sirdarius Henry - 3 | Ast: Jermaine Morgan - 4 |
| Team Statistics | Clayton St. | Columbus St. |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goal % | 45.6% (26-57 ) | 43.8% (28-64 ) |
| Rebounds | 27 | 42 |
| Assists | 11 | 10 |
| Turnovers | 14 | 12 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 12 | 14 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 8 | 18 |
| Pts in the Paint | 26 | 24 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 2 | 6 |
| Bench Pts | 25 | 19 |
Columbus, GA – The Clayton State men's basketball team dropped its regular season finale Saturday, falling 89-71 to Columbus State in Columbus, GA.
The Lakers trailed by only a single point, 36-35, at halftime but the Cougars opened the second half with a 10-0 run and never looked back en route to the victory.
A three-pointer by Clayton State freshman guard Sirdarius Henry cut the Columbus State lead to eight points, 57-49, with 10:24 remaining but the Lakers would come no closer. The Cougars went on an 8-2 run over the next two minutes and led by double-digits for the remainder of the contest.
With the loss, the Lakers drop to 13-13 on the season and 9-10 in Peach Belt Conference play. Clayton State will enter next week's Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championships in Columbus either as the West Division's No. 3 or No. 4 seed.
The Lakers will enter the tournament as the third seed if Georgia Southwestern falls later tonight at home against North Georgia and the fourth seed if the Hurricanes win. A GSW win would result in Clayton State and Georgia Southwestern being tied, and the Hurricanes have the edge in the tiebreaker.
For Clayton State, center Andrew Bachanov led the way with 15 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. Forward Omari Murray finished with 12 points, followed by 10 points from Tony Dukes. Henry and guard Craig Wong each chipped in nine points.
Columbus State's Rory Miller finished with a game high 23 points, followed by Winford Ivey with 20 points. Idell Bell added 19 points.
Clayton State shot better than the Cougars from the field, hitting 46 percent (26-of-57) from the floor compared to Columbus State's 44 percent (28-of-64), but the Cougars had decisive advantage at the free throw line. Columbus State made 23-of-30 from the free throw line compared to 13-of-19 for the Lakers.
