GREENWOOD, S.C. -- Clayton State came up with two huge steals in the final seconds, preserving a 72-69 win over Augusta State in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament semfinals Saturday night in Finis Horne Arena.

The Lakers advance to face the winner of the Lander-Armstrong Atlantic State game in Sunday’s PBC title game at 4:30 p.m. Augusta State now awaits postseason play with a 23-6 record.

Clayton State (23-6) scored the game’s first eight points as part of a 13-4 run. Brandon Kelley opened the game with a three-pointer and the Lakers also got two treys from Todd McLaurin – the last coming with 16:44 to go, making it 13-4. The Jaguars answered over the next four minutes with a 13-3 run of their own to take a 17-16 lead with 12:02 left. From there, there would be seven ties and seven lead exchanges. Kip Small hit one of two free-throws with 19 seconds left for the seventh tie, sending the teams to the locker room knotted at 38.

Clayton State came out in the second half and took the upper hand, building as much as a 10-point lead on three occasions. Brandon Kelley’s free-throws with 9:15 to play put the Lakers up 64-54. At that point, the Jaguars began to climb back into the game. ASU reeled off a 13-2 run to take the lead at 67-66 on two Ben Madgen free-throws with 2:41 to play.

Clayton State responded by out-scoring the Jaguars 6-2 over the remaining time. Kelley gave the Lakers a 72-69 lead with 21 seconds left after ASU’s Garrett Siler hit just one of two free-throws to make it 70-69. ASU brought the ball up the floor and got it to A.J. Bowman for a game-tying three-point attempt.

John Beugnot stripped Bowman of the ball on his way up and was fouled. He missed his free-throw attempt and ASU’s Daniel Dixon got the rebound and raced up the floor. Dixon made a move to his left and launched an apparent game-tying three-pointer that banked in. However, Jags’ head coach Dip Metress had screamed for a timeout and it was granted just before Dixon’s shot. That wiped out the tying shot and put 1.4 seconds back on the clock. Clayton State again tipped the ball away from Bowman on the set play and ASU never got a shot off, falling 72-69.

McLaurin hit 9-of-21 shots, including four treys, to pace the Laker offense with 24 points. Michael Sloan added 16 points, while Kelley added 14. Beugnot added 10 points and nine rebounds to go with three steals. The Lakers shot 47 percent for the game.

Bowman hit 8-of-15 shots to finish with 26 points for the Jag. He went 6-of-6 at the free-throw line and collected five rebounds to go with three steals. Dixon hit a trio of triples to fisnish with 14 points, while Siler added 13 points and seven rebounds. ASU shot 43 percent for the game and held a slim 32-31 advantage in rebounding.

Clayton State plays in the championship game for the first time ever and has assured itself of a post-season bid. Augusta State will likely host the South Atlantic Regional next week. The NCAA Tournament field will be announced at 10:30 p.m. Sunday night. ASU will host a Selection Show party in Jaguars Student Activity Center (JSAC) ballroom beginning at 9:30 p.m.

Official Basketball Box Score
Clayton State vs Augusta State
03/03/07 6:00 p.m. at Greenwood, S.C. (Horne Arena)
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VISITORS: Clayton State 23-6
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
05 Kelley, Brandon..... *  5-10   2-5    2-2    1  4  5   2  14  5  3  0  1  35
14 Beugnot, John....... *  4-12   1-3    1-3    4  5  9   2  10  1  0  0  3  31
20 McLaurin, Todd...... *  9-21   4-8    2-2    0  1  1   1  24  4  3  0  0  32
22 Sloan, Michael...... *  7-9    2-2    0-0    0  2  2   3  16  0  0  0  3  32
55 Sawadogo, Aristide.. *  1-1    0-0    0-0    1  2  3   5   2  1  1  1  0  21
03 Venner, Rod.........    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0  10
24 Rodriguez, Luis.....    0-0    0-0    1-2    1  1  2   0   1  1  1  0  0  10
30 Trotter, Jeff.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  2  2  2  10
32 Kelly, Brian........    0-0    0-0    1-2    1  0  1   2   1  0  0  0  0   4
50 Boyd, Jerome........    1-3    0-0    2-2    3  1  4   2   4  0  0  0  0  15
   TEAM................                         1  3  4
   Totals..............   27-57   9-18   9-13  12 19 31  17  72 12 10  3  9 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-31 48.4%   2nd Half: 12-26 46.2%   Game: 47.4%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  5-10 50.0%   2nd Half:  4-8  50.0%   Game: 50.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  3-6  50.0%   2nd Half:  6-7  85.7%   Game: 69.2%    3

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HOME TEAM: Augusta State 23-6
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
00 Dixon, Daniel....... *  5-13   3-7    1-2    3  2  5   2  14  2  3  0  1  27
01 Madgen, Ben......... *  1-7    0-1    2-2    2  2  4   2   4  5  1  0  1  30
02 Smith, Steve........ *  1-1    1-1    0-0    0  1  1   1   3  3  0  0  1  34
21 Siler, Garret....... *  5-8    0-0    3-6    4  3  7   2  13  0  0  1  1  33
23 Bowman, Tyrekus..... *  8-15   4-6    6-6    2  3  5   1  26  0  4  0  3  36
03 Howard, Demetrius...    1-5    1-4    0-0    0  2  2   0   3  1  2  0  1  14
33 Tambon, Luke........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   3   0  0  1  0  0   8
44 Small, Kip..........    1-2    1-1    3-4    1  2  3   0   6  6  2  0  0  18
   TEAM................                         1  2  3             1
   Totals..............   22-51  10-20  15-20  13 19 32  11  69 17 14  1  8 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-29 41.4%   2nd Half: 10-22 45.5%   Game: 43.1%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  6-12 50.0%   2nd Half:  4-8  50.0%   Game: 50.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  8-10 80.0%   2nd Half:  7-10 70.0%   Game: 75.0%    2

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Officials: B. Etter, R. Wells, C. Cummings
Technical fouls: Clayton State-None. Augusta State-None.
Attendance: 842
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Clayton State.................   38   34  -   72
Augusta State.................   38   31  -   69
Peach Belt Conference Men's Semifinal Game 1

Points in the paint-CLAYTON 22,ASU 16. Points off turnovers-CLAYTON 23,ASU 12.
2nd chance points-CLAYTON 9,ASU 11. Fast break points-CLAYTON 10,ASU 0.
Bench points-CLAYTON 6,ASU 9. Score tied-9 times. Lead changed-10 times.
Last FG-CLAYTON 2nd-00:21, ASU 2nd-05:35.