Box Score MORROW, Ga.--Clayton State built a 16-point second half lead and then withstood a furious USC Aiken rally to down the Pacers, 61-58, tonight (Monday) in a match-up of Peach Belt Conference men's basketball teams in Morrow, Ga. The Lakers missed four free throws in the final seven seconds and allowed USCA to get off a shot at the buzzer to tie, but Richard Blocker's three-pointer rattled in and out.

Freshman Franchot Brown led USC Aiken (6-11, 2-5 PBC) with 10 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Craig Butts scored a game-high 19 points and added eight boards for CCSU (13-9, 6-2 PBC).

Butts' jumper 11 seconds into the second half gave the Lakers their largest lead of the game, 16 points, 39-23, but Clayton State hit on just two-of-17 from the field through the first 10 minutes of the second half. USC Aiken used a 16-5 run during that time to cut the deficit to five points.

Richard Glover scored the final seven points of the run and his jumper with 10:53 brought the Pacers to within 44-39.

Maxi Rios pushed CCSU back out by 10 with a three-pointer at the 7:40 mark. USCA answered again, this time with six unanswered to make it 52-48 with just over five and a half minutes remaining. 

Three Clayton State free throws pushed the Lakers in front by seven with just 41 seconds remaining. Curt Triplin was fouled on a three-point attempt with 18 seconds on the clock. The senior connected on just one from the charity stripe but Brown grabbed the offensive board, and Triplin knocked down a three-pointer to bring the Pacers within three, 61-58, with nine seconds to go.

Darien Chavis and T.J. Waldon each missed two free throws in the final seven seconds, the last coming with five ticks remaining, to set up Blocker's shot at the buzzer.
Clayton State made just six-of-26 attempts from the field in the second half for 23.1 percent. USC Aiken made 12-of-28 (42.9 percent) second half shot attempts.

After Josh Geyer tied the game for the third time, 6-6 with 15:05 left in the first half, the Lakers used a 14-2 run to take a 12-point lead, 20-8, inside of 10 minutes before intermission. Chavis connected on a lay-up with 6:09 to go in the first stanza to give CCSU a 15-point advantage, 29-14. Michael Sloan's two free throws sent Clayton State to the locker room with a 14-point advantage, 37-23. 

The Pacers will be back in action again on Wednesday when they host Francis Marion University (8-10, 3-5 PBC) at "The Courthouse" in Aiken, S.C. Tip-off between USCA and the Patriots is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. 

SCORING:
USC Aiken (58): Franchot Brown 10, Curt Triplin 9, Josh Poston 8, Arnold Coates 8, Marcus Robinson 8, Richard Glover 7, Josh Geyer 6, Anthony Sampson 1, Trent Boyd 1, Richard Blocker 0, Theo Oates 0, Kenny Burr 0

Clayton State (61): Craig Butts 19, Darien Chavis 8, B.J. Puckett 8, Justin Levy 6, Michael Sloan 5, Maxi Rios 5, Rashad Williams 4, Donte Dawson 4, Aristide Sawadogo 2, T.J. Waldon 0