AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Augusta State outlasted Clayton State in a physical battle Saturday night, claiming a 70-60 Peach Belt Conference victory over the Lakers in Christenberry Fieldhouse.

With the victory, the No. 12 Jaguars moved to 7-3 overall and 2-1 in Peach Belt play. The loss dropped Clayton State to 5-6 overall and 1-3 in the league. The win also avenged last season’s 72-69 loss to CSU in the PBC Tournament semifinals in Greenwood, S.C.

Senior forward Tyrekus “AJ” Bowman scored a game-high 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting and collected nine rebounds. The effort marked his fourth straight game of 20 or more points and his 30th consecutive game in double figures, dating back to last season. Sophomore Ben Madgen tallied 19 points, including 10-of-11 from the free-throw line. Junior guard Steve Smith had seven points, seven rebounds and five assists. Foul trouble limited junior center Garret Siler to eight points, six rebounds and two blocks.

Tracy Williams paced the Lakers with 15 points and four assists, while Michael Sloan added 11 points.

ASU lead 39-30 at the half after shooting 65.2 percent in the opening 20 minutes. The Jags went up 11 on a pair of Madgen free throws before Clayton scored six straight points to pull within 41-36 at the 16:14 mark. The Lakers got as close as five on four other occasions, the last with 7:49 to play on a Bernard Fields’ layup.

The Jags responded with a layup and two free throws from Bowman. Clayton wouldn’t fold, getting as close as 57-53 on a Sloan layup with 3:48 remaining. ASU countered with five straight points and went up nine on a Steve Smith layup at the 1:56 mark. Madgen connected on six straight free throws over the final 1:35 to prevent the Lakers from getting any closer.

The Jags hit the road for a Wednesday night league matchup at UNC Pembroke on Wednesday, Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m.

Official Basketball Box Score
Clayton State vs Augusta State
01/05/08 7:30 p.m. at Augusta, Ga. (Christenberry Fieldhouse)
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VISITORS: Clayton State 5-6, 1-3 PBC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
14 Garrett, Ricky...... f  1-4    1-3    1-2    2  3  5   3   4  0  3  0  0  27
55 Traore Dit Nignan, A c  1-2    0-0    2-2    2  1  3   1   4  1  4  1  1  14
05 Williams, Tracy..... g  6-9    3-4    0-0    1  2  3   3  15  4  3  0  0  25
22 Sloan, Michael...... g  5-18   1-10   0-0    3  2  5   3  11  2  0  0  2  36
32 Kelly, Brian........ g  3-10   0-0    0-2    2  0  2   5   6  1  2  0  0  24
12 Goss, Trey..........    1-1    0-0    0-2    1  1  2   0   2  0  1  0  1  18
21 Fields, Bernard.....    3-10   1-3    0-0    2  1  3   2   7  1  0  0  1  15
30 Lewis, Will.........    2-5    0-1    0-0    1  2  3   2   4  1  1  0  0  16
33 Greene, Torrin......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   3
50 Boyd, Jerome........    3-7    0-0    1-2    2  1  3   3   7  0  1  0  1  22
   Team................                         4  2  6
   Totals..............   25-66   6-21   4-10  20 15 35  22  60 10 15  1  6 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-29 41.4%   2nd Half: 13-37 35.1%   Game: 37.9%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-9  44.4%   2nd Half:  2-12 16.7%   Game: 28.6%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  2-4  50.0%   2nd Half:  2-6  33.3%   Game: 40.0%    2

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HOME TEAM: Augusta State 7-3, 2-1 PBC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
01 Madgen, Ben......... f  4-9    1-3   10-11   1  2  3   3  19  3  3  0  0  33
23 Bowman, Tyrekus..... f  9-13   2-4    4-5    3  6  9   2  24  1  1  1  2  38
21 Siler, Garret....... c  3-5    0-0    2-4    1  5  6   4   8  0  3  2  1  28
00 Dixon, Daniel....... g  1-9    1-9    0-0    2  0  2   1   3  3  2  0  1  30
02 Smith, Steve........ g  3-3    1-1    0-0    2  5  7   0   7  5  2  0  1  29
03 Howard, Demetrius...    2-5    2-3    1-2    1  3  4   2   7  1  4  0  0  21
05 Killeen, Jason......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   3   0  0  2  0  0   4
24 Brown, Caleb........    0-0    0-0    2-2    0  2  2   0   2  1  1  0  0  14
33 Tambon, Luke........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  1  0  0  0   3
   TEAM................                            2  2
   Totals..............   22-44   7-20  19-24  10 25 35  16  70 15 18  3  5 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-23 65.2%   2nd Half:  7-21 33.3%   Game: 50.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  7-13 53.8%   2nd Half:  0-7   0.0%   Game: 35.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  2-4  50.0%   2nd Half: 17-20 85.0%   Game: 79.2%    2

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Officials: Robbie Adams (R), Jeff Fancher (U1), Carl Pundt (U2)
Technical fouls: Clayton State-None. Augusta State-None.
Attendance: 1624
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Clayton State.................   30   30  -   60
Augusta State.................   39   31  -   70

Points in the paint-CLST 30,ASU 28. Points off turnovers-CLST 14,ASU 12.
2nd chance points-CLST 14,ASU 10. Fast break points-CLST 4,ASU 2.
Bench points-CLST 20,ASU 9. Score tied-0 times. Lead changed-0 times.
Last FG-CLST 2nd-00:33, ASU 2nd-01:56.