FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1-28-04

Men's Basketball: Clayton State 70, AASU 54

Release Courtesy of CC&SU Sports Information

MORROW, Ga. – It was a matchup between the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Region's No. 5 and No. 6 teams, and in the end, the lower ranked team won ... and in convincing fashion.

The Clayton College & State University men's basketball team, ranked sixth in the South Atlantic Region poll released today, defeated Peach Belt Conference rival and fifth-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State University 70-54 Wednesday at the Athletics & Fitness Center in Morrow, GA.

Leading 31-28 at halftime, the Clayton State defense flexed its muscles in the second half, holding the Pirates to five points in the first 10 minutes of the period. The Lakers outscored the Pirates 21-5 in the stretch and led 55-36 on a three-pointer by senior Leon Parker (Miami, FL) with 8:54 remaining.

The Lakers pushed their lead to a game high 21 points, 57-36, two minutes later as senior Craig Butts (Savannah, GA) had a basket. CCSU led by at least 15 points for the remainder of the game. Junior Darien Chavis (Philadelphia, PA) led the second half explosion with 11 points in the period, hitting 4-of-5 from the field. Junior B.J. Puckett (Auburn, GA) led the Lakers in the game with 16 points and 10 rebounds, hitting 6-of-8 from the field.

After shooting 57 percent (12-of-21) from the floor in the first half, the Lakers held Armstrong Atlantic, the PBC's top shooting team, to 39 percent (9-of-23) shooting in the second half. Clayton Sate heated up on the offensive end in the second half, hitting 54 percent (14-of-26) from the field after shooting 42 percent (11-of-26) in the first half.

With the win, the Lakers improve to 15-3 overall and 5-2 in the Peach Belt, while Armstrong Atlantic drops to 13-5 overall and 4-3 in the league. The Lakers will return to action on Saturday, traveling to face the University of South Carolina Aiken in a 7:30 p.m. game on Saturday.

AASU jumped out to an early 11-4 lead with a three-pointer by senior Justin Wood (Midland, MI) with 15:36 remaining in the first half. Armstrong Atlantic led almost the entire first half until the Lakers made a late run. Two straight three-pointers by senior Lamar Rodgers (Jonesboro, GA) and senior Kevin Young (Marietta, GA), with Young's coming with 1:31 remaining, gave the team its first lead of the game, 29-28. The Lakers led by three points at halftime with a basket by Butts in the final minute.

Behind Puckett's 16 points, Chavis finished with 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Rodgers chipped in 13 points, going 4-of-4 from three-point land and 1-of-2 from the free throw line. Butts added 10 points and seven boards.

For Armstrong Atlantic, senior guard Brian Bain (Nassau, Bahamas) led the attack with 25 points, followed by Wood with nine points.

-Pirates-