AMERICUS, Ga. - Kalen Clifton grabbed a loose ball and calmly delivered the game-winning three with 5.9 seconds remaining to give Columbus State University the 72-70 win over Georgia Southwestern State University Wednesday night. The Peach Belt Conference game took place inside the Storm Dome in Americus, Ga.
On top 69-68 with only 20 seconds left, the Cougars (3-4, 3-4 PBC) turned the ball over and allowed a layup to put the Canes back in front 70-69. Lorenzo Anderson brought the ball up and missed a driving floater, but secured the offensive rebound. After a blocked shot the ball fell into the hands of Clifton, who rose up with a hand in his face to knock down the trey.
The Cougars would be whistled for a foul with only 0.5 left on the clock, but after missing the first free throw GSW was forced to miss the second, and the Cougars grabbed the rebound to secure the win.
"It's do or die right now and every single game has such a big impact on how the final standings will shake out," mentioned head coach Robert Moore. "We know what Clifton can do any night he's out there on the court, and that was a special shot by a special kid. We'll celebrate tonight, but we also know it's back to business as we have to come away with another win on Saturday."
| How It Happened |
| First Half |
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Georgia Southwestern (6-3, 4-3 PBC) quickly jumped out to an 8-0 lead after CSU missed their first four shots of the game. But the Cougars settled down thanks to Anthony Moore and Christian Chambers. The duo combined for 18 of the next 22 Columbus State points including two deep threes from Chambers to put CSU on top 22-19. The two teams went cold from the field late as they only scored a total of seven points in the final five minutes of the half, with the Cougars holding the 32-29 halftime advantage.
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| Second Half |
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The two teams traded buckets to open the second half until GSW opened up their largest lead of the half at 53-47 with 11:36 left. But CSU took over from there, going on a 17-3 run capped off by a Hunter Preston layup to give them an eight point advantage. After falling behind 66-65, Preston scored back-to-back layups to put the Cougars on top 69-67 with only 41 seconds remaining. The Canes would hit a free throw, and then come up with a steal and layup to surge in front 70-69. From there, Kalen Clifton took home the heroic honors drilling a deep three with five seconds left as CSU held on for the win.
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| Box Score Breakdown |
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• Clifton led the way with 19 points, his second-highest total this season.
• Preston and Moore both finished one rebound shy of a double-double, while scoring 16 and 14 points respectively.
• Chambers scored 12 points in a six minute stretch in the first half with two threes and six more points from the line.
• Lorenzo Anderson also chipped in 10 points, his third consecutive game scoring in double figures off the bench.
• CSU won the rebounding margin 40-35. It was the third straight game that the Cougars have out-rebounded their opponent.
• Columbus State made a season-high 20 free throws, shooing 77% from the line in the win.
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| Cougar Notes |
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• With five double-figure scorers, tonight marked the second time CSU has had at least five players score 10 or more points in a game.
• The Cougars locked up their first road win of the season.
• Columbus State now leads the all-time series 26-20 over GSW.
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| Up Next |
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CSUÂ will head back home to the Lumpkin Center on Saturday, Jan. 30 to take on Francis Marion University. Tip off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. with Cougar fans having the opportunity to listen to the game live on 88.5 FM WCUG.
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