MORROW, Ga. – In their first appearance in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament since 2013, Clayton State (16-13, 11-8 PBC) did not go quietly as they battled Lander (12-17, 8-11 PBC) through two overtimes before finally running out of time in an 89-86 loss in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Saturday, February 25.
 
Deadlocked at 67-67 in the first overtime, senior guard Maurice White (Baltimore, Md.) drove to the basket to start the extra session, laying it in and drawing a foul before converting on a traditional three-point play. LU would answer right back, scoring the next six points, five by JR Washington, to jump ahead 73-70 by the 3:05 mark. White would strike once again as he picked up another three-point play, this time to tie it at 73-73 just seconds later.
 
The Bearcats' Rahu Purdie responded by draining a three at the other end but redshirt-senior forward Alfonso Davis (Bronx, N.Y.) came right back with a layup to cut it to one. Following a Washington layup that made it a three-point gap, Davis found junior guard Nathan Powell (Orlando, Fla.) in the corner for a game-tying bomb with 31 seconds to play. Despite having a full shot clock with the scored tied at 78-78, LU again failed to get off a shot, forcing a second OT.
 
Things would do anything but slow down from there as the Lakers took a one point lead and the teams then traded the next six baskets to end up with Clayton State holding an 85-84 lead with 1:27 to go. The seventh straight lead change would be the last as Ross Clenzo scored the next five points, three on free throws to make it 89-85 with 12 seconds left. The Lakers would add a free throw but would be unable to overcome the final deficit of 89-86.
 
White led the Lakers with a career-high 27 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field and an impressive 11-of-13 at the foul line while adding eight boards and a pair of steals. Junior guard Dantez Bennamon (Goose Creek, S.C.) delivered a solid all-around game with 17 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
 
Joining them was Davis, who finished with a double-double of 14 points and 10 boards to go with three blocks. Eight of those rebounds came defensively, giving him 160 on the season and surpassing the all-time mark of 156 set by Clayton State Hall of Famer Keith Herring during the 1993-94 season. It is the second of Herring's records he has broken this year, grabbing 21 rebounds against North Georgia, a mark that was previously 19 by the Laker legend.
 
Rounding out the top performers were Powell with seven points and four assists and freshman guard Kyle Kincey (Tallahassee, Fla.) with eight points, including 6-of-8 from the line. Additionally, White played 48 of a possible 50 minutes while Bennamon logged 42 minutes.
 
At the start of the game, Clayton State came out strong and took a 12-7 lead by the 13:45 mark before the Bearcats put together an 18-5 run over the next 10:19 for a 25-17 advantage. It would continue to be a game of runs, however, as the Lakers would have the final one of the half. Over the final three-plus minutes they mounted a 14-5 surge that sent them into the half holding a 31-30 margin.
 
After three successive lead changes to start the second half, a fourth would ignite an 8-0 run by Clayton State that left them with a 41-34 lead by the 15:57 mark. Things would change dramatically from there, however, as LU exploded for a 24-9 run that fueled a 57-50 lead with 7:33 to play.
 
Faced with daunting task of recovering from that run, the Lakers did just that as they scored 10 of the next 15 points to pull within 62-60 by the 3:50 mark. Scoring would be at a premium from there as LU inched out to a 64-60 lead before Clayton State used a 5-2 burst to cut it to 66-65 with 30 seconds to play.
 
Lander would split a pair of free throws and Bennamon knocked down a pair to knot it at 67-67 with 12 seconds left. The Bearcats would fail to get a shot off in the final seconds, sending the game to overtime and a hectic finish.
 
JR Washington erupted for 30 points, fueled by 9-of-11 shooting from the foul line, to go along with 13 rebounds, two steals and a pair of assists to lead LU. Ross and Nicklas Jonsson finished with 13 points apiece and Purdie, Jordan Dingle and Chris Tate each had nine points.
 
The Lakers close out the 2016-17 season with a 16-13 overall record, a Peach Belt Conference West Division Championship and their first berth in the PBC Tournament since the 2012-13 season. It is their first championship since winning the 2008 Peach Belt Conference Tournament and first regular season title since the 2001-02 season.
 
NOTES
The appearance in the conference tournament was their first since the 2012-13 season when they dropped an 85-71 decision at USC Aiken on March 8, 2013 … Davis finishes his Laker career with 868 points, 454 rebounds and 97 blocks … his block total ranks fifth all-time while his rebound mark is eighth … the game was the final one of the college careers of Jaumonee Byrd, Mike Scott, Alfonso Davis, Maurice White and Darrius Moore.