PACERS FALL IN HISTORIC TRIPLE-OVERTIME THRILLER
CINDERELLA CLAYTON STATE STOPS USC AIKEN'S WINNING STREAK AT 14

AIKEN, S.C. -- Top-seeded USC Aiken (27-3) rallied from 14 points down to force overtime and battled for 55 minutes, but seventh-seeded Clayton State (17-14) used a Michael Sloan jumper with 2.7 seconds left in the third overtime to stun the Pacers 89-87 in the championship game of the 2008 Peach Belt Conference Tournament at the USCA Convocation Center. (PHOTO BY: Ginny Southworth)

With the victory in the first PBC Tournament game to reach a third overtime and the first championship game to move to overtime, the Lakers earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament.

After leading by eight at the halftime break, Clayton State came out of the locker room determined to keep their lead and the home crowd quiet. The Lakers pushed their lead to 10 on a Jerome Boyd layup with 14:52 on the clock, and led by 14 at the 7:31 mark when Sloan scored on a drive.

Beginning with a three-point play by Job Casimir and capped by a triple by Jeremy Fears, USC Aiken went on an 11-0 run beginning with 5:41 left to cut a 12-point deficit to one (67-66) with 3:55 left.

After a Sloan jumper, four USCA free throws put the hosts in front 70-69 with 1:09 remaining. Will Lewis regained the lead for Clayton State with 43 ticks on the clock, but Cordaryl Ballard tied the game on the Pacers’ next trip with one of two free throws. Clayton would not score despite two shots as the game went into overtime.

The Lakers led throughout most of the first overtime and took a 78-74 lead on a pair of Trey Goss free throws with 2:47 left. Junior Kingsley Oguchi answered with his second three of the period.

After a pair of free throws by Bernard Fields made it 80-77, Fears drilled a tough three to tie the score with 1:19 remaining. Neither team could score again and the game moved to a second extra session.

Clayton scored first again in double overtime on a putback by Arnel Traore Dit Nignan. Fears responded with a jumper to tie the game, and Oguchi scored on a driving layup with 1:48 left to give the Pacers an 84-82 advantage. Sloan’s free throws with 1:28 left ended the scoring in the period, as both teams had an empty possession.

In another five-minute extra session, neither team scored for the first minute and a half. Goss knocked down a free throw for an 85-84 lead before Oguchi responded with another driving layup with 2:20 left. Fields gave the visitors a lead with a jumper with 47 seconds left. Fears was fouled with 29 seconds left, but the junior hit just one to tie the game at 87.

For the third time, Clayton State had the ball with a chance to take the game’s last shot and win their first PBC Tournament title. With Sloan running off a dribble handoff on the left wing, Oguchi slipped trying to defend and Sloan knocked down the game-winner from the free-throw line.

Both teams played excellent defense in the overtime sessions, especially in the second and third. In the final 10 minutes, Clayton State outscored USCA 9-7 for the win.

Playing 53 minutes, Oguchi led the Pacers with a career-high 24 points on 8-for-15 shooting, including 6-for-13 from long range. Commons added 21 points and seven rebounds with just six coming after halftime. Casimir set a career high for the second-straight game with 18 points. After being held scoreless in the first half, Fears scored 15 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out six assists.

Fields led Clayton State with 20 points while Will Lewis added 18 with 13 coming in the first half. Sloan finished with 16 points while tournament MVP Tracy Williams added 10 points despite fouling out with 2:30 left in regulation.

USC Aiken will advance to the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid. As the top-seed, the Pacers will play eighth-seeded Clayton State for the fourth time this season in the regional. Check out PacerSports.com for dates and game times for the NCAA South Atlantic Regional.

Game 18 – Clayton State vs. USC Aiken – Quotes
Clayton State Head Coach Gordon Gibbons:
“We looked forward, believe it or not, to playing the early game (of the week). I thought our team was playing extremely well. What we’ve really done, we’ve really stayed together as a team and played really well on the defensive end. Tonight, the overtimes, we hold them to 33 percent. You kind of knew they would have a run. We had just hoped to build a lead, withstand the run and have a chance to win at the end. We had that.”

“It’s a tremendous win for our program. We started to see it come together in January. We’d take two steps forward and one step back. But for have it all to come together this week is great for our program and the definite high point in our program.”

(On Advancing to the NCAA Tournament): “I think the confidence of this team is at a season-long high. We’ll enjoy it for two days: the rest of today, and all of tomorrow. Then we’ll bring them back down to earth and we’ll be ready.”

Clayton State’ Michael Sloan (On hitting the game-winning shot):
“They say when you’re open, it’s the easiest shot. But I’m here to tell you …its not. I had to concentrate as much as I’ve ever had to my whole life.”

“Relief. Happiness. I think every good feeling you can have, I had when that ball went through.”

Clayton State’s Brian Kelly:
“It’s a real good feeling. We just grind it out. It was looking like an ugly season, but we pulled together at the right time, everybody’s on the same page. It’s a great feeling.”

USC Aiken Head Coach Vince Alexander:
“That was one of the best games I’ve ever been involved with. You had two really good teams on the floor and I thought both teams played hard. I thought there were some things we definitely could have done better, but they probably have some things they say they could have done better.”

“We’re 27-3, so we have to be doing something right.”

“We’re winners, we’re not going to quit. We’re going to keep fighting. Last time we lost a game, we won 14 straight. I asked them ‘what are we going to do? Pack up our bags and say, aw, this season’s over?’ No. I guarantee you that you’ll see a different team next week.”

Newspaper Box Score
Clayton State vs USC Aiken
03/09/08 4:30 PM at Aiken, S.C. (Convocation Center)
At Aiken, S.C. (Convocation Center)

CLAYTON STATE 89, USC AIKEN 87

CLAYTON STATE (17-14)
Fields, Bernard 6-15 5-5 20; Lewis, Will 6-11 4-4 18; Sloan, Michael 7-14 2-2 16; Williams, Tracy 4-8 2-3 10; Boyd, Jerome 4-6 0-0 8; Traore Dit Nignan, A 3-5 0-0 6; Goss, Trey 0-3 5-6 5; Kelly, Brian 2-3 0-0 4; Garrett, Ricky 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 33-70 18-20 89.

USC AIKEN (27-3)
Oguchi, Kingsley 8-15 2-3 24; Commons, Chris 7-15 6-11 21; Casimir, Job 4-5 8-8 18; Fears, Jeremy 4-13 5-8 15; Ballard, Cordaryl 2-6 2-3 7; Dongo, Jores 1-3 0-0 2; Flowers, Rashad 0-0 0-0 0; McMasters, Casey 0-1 0-0 0; Gadomski, Jakub 0-0 0-0 0; Leonard, Seth 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-58 23-33 87.

Clayton State................. 44 27 9 4 5 - 89
USC Aiken..................... 36 35 9 4 3 - 87

3-point goals--Clayton State 5-22 (Fields, Bernard 3-7; Lewis, Will 2-3; Williams, Tracy 0-2; Goss, Trey 0-1; Garrett, Ricky 0-4; Sloan, Michael 0-5), USC Aiken 12-34 (Oguchi, Kingsley 6-13; Fears, Jeremy 2-9; Casimir, Job 2-2; Commons, Chris 1-5; Ballard, Cordaryl 1-4; McMasters, Casey 0-1). Fouled out--Clayton State-Williams, Tracy, USC Aiken-None. Rebounds—Clayton State 38 (Traore Dit Nignan, A 6), USC Aiken 35 (Commons, Chris 7; Fears, Jeremy 7). Assists--Clayton State 18 (Goss, Trey 6; Williams, Tracy 6), USC Aiken 13 (Fears, Jeremy 6). Total fouls--Clayton State 25, USC Aiken 19.
Technical fouls--Clayton State-None, USC Aiken-None. A-2017
2008 Peach Belt Conference Tournament -- Game 18, Championship

BOXSCORE