>>>boxscore
AIKEN, S.C. - Senior guard
Shaun
Keaton (Albany, Ga.) poured in a team-high 25 points,
but it was junior Ty Rowland
(Lilburn, Ga.) making not one, but two big shots to help
Georgia College & State University basketball (21-5, 15-5 PBC)
past No. 11 USC Aiken (21-6, 16-4 PBC) tonight (Feb. 28).
The Bobcats down three at 68-65 with 55 seconds left, Rowland
drove to the hole, getting knocked in mid-air but completing the
basket for the three-point play and a tie ballgame. Neither team
scored in the final 50 seconds of regulation, forcing overtime.
There, the Bobcats once again found themselves down 72-71 with
33 seconds left, when Graham Martin
(Marietta, Ga.) picked Josh Dollard's pocket. Running the
clock down to 16 seconds, Rowland again drove to the hoop, making a
layup to get a 73-72 advantage. The Pacers missed a three attempt
and the tip attempt following failed to score as well.
Rowland finished with 14 points, getting 11 after the halftime
break. He added four assists. Keaton was 8-for-16 from the field,
including 5-for-8 from three-point en route to 25 points. The
scoring was his fourth-straight 20-point game. The Bobcats also got
10 points from Martin.
The Pacers had three double-digit scorers themselves, as Dollard
was 11-for-15 from the floor, netting 26 points with his eight
boards. Casey McMasters had 13 off the pine, and defending Co-Peach
Belt Conference (PBC) Player of the Year Chris Commons was held
under his 17.7 season average, scoring just 11.
The win comes in GCSU's first overtime game of the 2008-09
season. The most recent overtime contest was Feb. 7, 2007, a loss
at Columbus State University. The most recent overtime win was Feb.
1, 2006 at USC Aiken.
Georgia College now has 21 wins this season, tying for the
eighth-most victories in school history. The Bobcats have now
beaten the Pacers twice this season, and are 4-3 against
nationally-ranked competition this year.
Keaton now has 1,307 points in his career, just one point away
from sixth place and William Northcut (1985-89).
Keaton made four free-throws tonight, passing Georgia College
Athletics Hall of Famer Robert Williams (1973-77)
into fourth in school history with 289 in Keaton's three-year
career.
Senior Ken Kemp (Dublin,
Ga.) nabbed five rebounds tonight, giving him 452 in his
career. Kemp is now 17 behind Julius Wilcox
(1984-88) and eighth place for Georgia College history.
The Bobcats have nearly a week off to prepare for the 2009 PBC
Tournament, where they will return to Aiken, this year's host.
Georgia College will face off with North Georgia (15-11, 9-11 PBC)
Friday, March 6 at 3 p.m.
Visit www.GCSUBobcats.com to nominate
your favorite former Bobcats and Colonials to the GCSU Athletics
Hall of Fame. The GCSU Department of Athletics sponsors 10 varsity
athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. As a Division II
program, GCSU prides itself on balancing the life of the
student-athlete, evidenced by the Bobcats' multiple appearances in
post-season competition as well as documented academic success and
community-service involvement.
