>>>boxscore
MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. - It was a tale of two
halves for the No. 21 Georgia College & State University men's
basketball team (18-2, 11-0 PBC) that ended thankfully with a 74-67
Bobcat victory over Clayton State University (12-9, 5-6 PBC) in the
Centennial Center. The Bobcats have won 12 games in a row, dating
back to Dec. 30.
Down by as many as 13 points in the first half, the Bobcats
entered the break on a 41-30 deficit. The Bobcats made just seven
field goals (7-26) in the first frame, and kept it close with a
perfect 15-for-15 effort from the free-throw line.
The second half was a different story, as Georgia College held
Clayton State to just 35 percent shooting, while the Bobcats made
12-of-23 shots (.522) from the field. The Bobcats committed a
school-record low three turnovers for the entire game.
Down 51-41 with 13:18 left in the second half, the Bobcats
responded with a 15-0 run, capped by a Ryan Aquino (Roswell,
Ga.) lay-up and a 56-51 GCSU lead with 7:41 left. The
lay-in was Aquino's only points of the contest. The Bobcats kept
the lead for the remainder of the game.
Junior guard Andre Mikell
(Snellville, Ga.) hit for a career-high 19 points,
providing a necessary spark off the bench once again. Backcourt
mate Ty
Rowland (Lilburn, Ga.) hit 5-of-8 from the floor and
5-of-6 from the line en route to 18 points, adding a game-high
eight assists to the effort.
The Bobcats were clobbered on the boards, 45-28, including a
20-5 gap on the offensive glass. Aquino led Georgia College with
five rebounds.
Robert Murry was the lone double-digit scorer for Clayton,
putting in 18 points with five rebounds. Brandon Robinson had seven
points and eight boards, while Timothy Downs added eight points,
five caroms and five assists.
With nine points tonight, Graham Martin
(Marietta, Ga.) passed Tim Northcut
(1987-91) into eighth in all-time scoring at GCSU, now
with 1,192. William Northcut (1987-91) is No. 7 at
1,308.
The Bobcats are back in action Thursday, Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m.,
traveling to No. 12 Augusta State University (19-2, 11-1 PBC). The
Jaguars disposed of Lander University 81-59 tonight.
The GCSU Department of Athletics, winners of the 2008-09 PBC
Commissioner's Cup, 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. Sign up at Twitter.com username GCSUSID for
up-to-the-minute reports, and visit www.GCSUBobcats.com to nominate
your favorite former Bobcats and Colonials to the GCSU Athletics
Hall of Fame.