Clayton ends championship run
The GCSU men’s basketball team suffered a heartbreaking defeat at home Wednesday night as they were defeated 77-66 by Clayton State in the first round of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament.
At the start of the game, the Bobcats quickly pulled ahead of the Lakers and took control of the game. GCSU was able to maintain their lead over Clayton State until a 3-pointer made by the Lakers put them ahead 25-22 with 8:49 in the half. From there, it was Clayton State that controlled the game and began to spread the point gap in their favor. The Bobcats fought hard but were unable to catch up and at the end of the first half they trailed Clayton State 45-29.
When the second half began, they Bobcats continued to fall farther behind the Lakers. When 16:12 remained in the game, Clayton State made two free throws that put it ahead by 20 points with the score at 50-30.
Despite the huge lead, the Bobcats kept pushing hard and narrowed the gap through the second half. With 3:04 remaining, GCSU trailed the Lakers by 10 points when three free throws from senior guard Ty Rowland set the score at 69-59. Even though the Bobcats were able to improve the score in their favor and continued to fight, they were unable to catch up and the game ended in a GCSU defeat with the final score of 77-66.
“I feel great, the guys did a good job, we just got outplayed tonight,” head coach Terry Sellers said. “Clayton State was a better team. They played well on both ends for 40 minutes.”
The Bobcats concluded their regular season with a victory when they traveled to North Georgia on Saturday and defeated the Saints 84-68.
Both teams came out on the court aggressively and the lead changed hands several times at the start of the first half. However, as the half began to progress, the Bobcats took a lead over the Saints that they were able to hold.
With 5:04 remaining in the half, senior guard Graham Martin scored four points at the courtesy stripe that gave GCSU its first 10-point lead with the score at 31-21.
Even so, the Saints stepped their game up and managed to catch up during the last five minutes and the first half ended with GCSU leading 41-40.
Neither team let up at the start of the second half, resulting in the lead switching back and forth between the two. With less than 10 minutes remaining, a 3-pointer made by Rowland gave the Bobcats a 58-53 lead.
As soon as GCSU took the lead over the Saints, it managed to remain in control for the rest of the game and increase their lead. The Bobcats earned their first 10-point lead of the second half when two free throws made by Martin set the score at 65-55 with 8:00 remaining. As the end of the game approached, GCSU continued to spread the point gap on their 10-point lead and held off North Georgia for an 84-68 win.
“We played good overall,” Rowland said. “We had spurts where we played really well and spurts were we didn’t play so well, but we pulled together as a team.”
Even though they suffered a tough defeat, GCSU’s regional ranking of No. 4 will give them the opportunity to play in the NCAA Division II championship tournament. The Bobcats will wait to see if the NCAA selection committee’s decision goes in their favor.
“We’ve got to make sure we get a bid,” Sellers said. We expect to get a bid, so we’ve just got to get back in the gym to practice and prepare for it.”
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