FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 2-16-00

Men's Basketball: Clayton College & State 73, AASU 68
Women's Basketball: Clayton College & State 78, AASU 76

Courtesy Clayton College & State Sports Information

MORROW, Ga - After losing a heartbreaker to USC Spartanburg Saturday night, the Clayton State Lakers rebounded and posted a 73-68 senior night win over the Armstrong Atlantic Pirates. This is only the second time in the nine meetings between the schools that Clayton State has defeated Armstrong Atlantic. The win keeps the Lakers in contention for a berth in the Peach Belt Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament to be played in Greenwood, South Carolina, March 2-4.

The Lakers quickly found themselves down 12-8 after scoring only eight points in the first eight minutes of play. However, Clayton State did not close the gap as the Pirates went on a 9-2 scoring run to take a 13-point lead with 4:32 left to play in the first half. CCSU trailed Armstrong Atlantic 25-34 at the half after shooting a miserable 27% from the field while the Pirates shot 59% from the field.

The second half Lakers looked like a totally different team as they came back from the break to score eight unanswered points to shrink the Pirate lead to one. However, Armstrong Atlantic once again accumulated a seven-point lead with just over 14 minutes left to play. The Lakers rallied once more and took the lead for the first time off an A.J. Rials jumper with 9:20 left in regulation. Clayton State did not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the game, although they did allow Armstrong Atlantic to tie the game at 66 at the two-minute mark. A three-pointer by Charlie Frazier and two free throws by A.J. Rials gave CCSU a five-point lead. Armstrong Atlantic cut the lead to three points off a Tavares Brown jumper, but Charlie Frazier's two free throws in the last five seconds of the game gave the Lakers the 73-68 victory.

Charlie Frazier led Clayton State with 22 points and a game-high nine assists. Marlin Capers dropped in 19 points while Damien Williams added 11 more points. Mike Minc was the only other Laker in double figures with ten points. A.J. Rials tallied ten rebounds with one block and five steals.

Armstrong Atlantic had two players score in double-figures. Robert Campbell led the Pirates with 18 points, eight assists, and five steals. David Koncul contributed 13 points while Greg Favors pulled down ten boards.

Clayton State improves to 11-12 overall and 7-7 in the Peach Belt. Armstrong Atlantic is 12-11 on the season and 9-4 in league play.

In women's action, for only the third time this season, the Clayton State Lady Lakers have won two games in a row. The Lady Lakers defeated the Lady Pirates 78-76 in their senior night and final home game of the 2000 season. A jumper by Mandy Cowan with 11 seconds left sealed the victory for Clayton State.

The Lady Lakers fell behind 9-2 at the start of the game, but came back behind eight unanswered points by Joya Collier to take an 11-9 lead with 15:17 on the clock. Clayton State found themselves down by five as the Lady Pirates went on a 9-2 scoring run in the next five minutes. The lead changed hands six more times in the first half, with Clayton State trailing by four (36-40) at the break after shooting 42% from the field, but not converting one three-pointer in the half (0-8). Armstrong Atlantic shot 37% from the field for the first half, and hit four of eight treys to gain the edge.

In the second half, Clayton State came out shooting and tied the game with 17:29 on the clock. Once again, the lead would change hands several times until with just under eight minutes remaining, the Lady Lakers took the lead off a Sarah Ernest jumper. Clayton State went up by as much as nine points, but found the game tied once more with just over one minute remaining in regulation when Sonya Mintz sank a long jumper. A fould on AASU's Duanda Ball put Misty Amerson on the line. Amerson sank both free throws to give the Lady Lakers a two-point edge. However, the Lady Pirates' Shawnte Craig tied the game with 00:32 left on the clock. A jumper by Mandy Cowan iced the win after Lexie Martin missed a jumper and CCSU's Joya Collier rebounded it with four seconds left to play.

Joya Collier led the Lady Laker with 24 points and 19 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks while Mandy Cowan added 14 points with two blocks and five rebounds in their final home performances. Shenika Worthy also scored 14 points with three assists and two steals. Chelle Warren dished out a team-high five assists.

Armstrong Atlantic's Lexie Martin scored 20 points with a game-high six assists. Shawnte Craig dropped in 16 points and Sonya Mintz contributed 15 points. Duanda Ball tallied ten points while Dorthell Little had a team-high nine rebounds.

Clayton State shot 49% from the field and 67% from the free throw line for the game while Armstrong Atlantic shot 37% from the field and 79% from the charity stripe. The Lady Lakers improve to 7-17 overall and 3-11 in Peach Belt action. Armstrong Atlantic is 5-18 on the season and 2-11 in conference play.