Camaj leads balanced Cougars attack in PBC tourney win

The Columbus State men’s basketball team took advantage of a 10-0 opening run and never looked back, defeating USC-Aiken 84-66 at the Lumpkin Center Saturday afternoon in the Peach Belt Conference quarterfinals.

Four players finished in double figures, led by a 20-point effort from center Arben Camaj.

“You have to think with any Peach Belt game, teams are going to come out with a lot of enthusiasm and intensity,” said head coach Robert Moore. “Aiken tried to put it to us by playing good defense, but I think our guys answered the bell playing on our home court. That’s the advantage of winning the first or second seed in the regular season.”

The Cougars never trailed and led the Pacers by as much as 22 late in the second half.

“We talked to our guys in practice and the shootaround that we had to get off to a good start playing at home, and the guys fed off that during the game,” Moore said. “Making shots and getting offensive rebounds helped out. Our guys feel real comfortable at the Lumpkin Center.”

Both Camaj and Vic Ellis had season highs in points, with Ellis scoring 17 off the bench.

“He was big,” Moore said of Ellis. “I see Vic make those shots every game in practice. You have to have a guy like that at tournament time to come off the bench and step up and make big shots.”

JaCori Payne, who has been the leader on the team throughout the entire season, scored 18 points, with Marcus Dixon scoring 10 and being a huge part in the Cougars’ initial run.

“Marcus Dixon is our glue guy,” Moore said. “He comes to work every day. He rebounds the basketball. We’d like the ball to be in his hands when (Darius Joell) and JaCori can’t get it. He makes plays for us.”

Camaj broke the 20-point barrier for the first time with shots from inside and outside. He was 7 of 10 from the field and 1 of 2 from beyond the arc.

“He’s great for our program on and off the court,” Moore said of Camaj. “He’s been very instrumental in helping us move this program forward. We’re going to miss him. I hope we keep winning. He’s that guy who can shoot 40 percent from 3, can rebound, block shots. We use him to do a lot of different things.”

The win redeems the Cougars from a Jan. 7 loss at Aiken, allowing a season-high 106 in a twenty-point loss.

“I felt like we gave them payback,” Moore said. “They beat us by 20 at their place, so it was time to show them what kind of basketball team we really are.”

The Cougars advance to the semifinals against top East seed Augusta, who dispatched Montevallo on Saturday. The game will be played at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Lander, the top remaining East women’s seed.

“We’ll give our guys two days off Sunday and Monday, let our trainers take care of their bodies, give them lots of rest,” Moore said. “Once it gets to Tuesday, we’ll get ready for Augusta.”

This story was originally published February 25, 2017 at 8:39 PM with the headline "Camaj leads balanced Cougars attack in PBC tourney win."