Columbus State routs Clayton State to win Peach Belt title

MORROW, Ga. -- The Columbus State Cougars won its first Peach Belt Conference championship in a decade on Wednesday night.

The Cougars used a late run in the first half to blow open a close game and went on a to a 93-72 victory over Clayton State.

Columbus State finished the regular season at 20-6 overall and 14-5 in the conference. CSU finished tied with Montevallo for the best record in the PBC. They will share the PBC championship since the league does not break ties for a regular-season championship.

It is CSU's fifth PBC championship. The Cougars also won in 1993-94, 95-96, 02-03 and 05-06.

CSU and Montevallo also ended up tied atop the Western Division. But CSU will earn the No. 1 seed for the upcoming PBC tournament. The teams split during the regular season, but the Cougars finished with a better division record.

As the No. 1 seed from the West, CSU will host Francis Marion, the No. 4 seed from the East, in the first round of the PBC tournament.

That game is scheduled for 4 p.m. Sunday at the Lumpkin Center.

Clayton State pulled within five points, 39-34, with 3:04 left in the first half. The Cougars finished the half on an 11-0 run for a 50-34 lead.

The Cougars continued to pull away by scoring eight of the first 12 points in the second half for a 20-point margin, 58-38 with 17:39 left in the game.

The Lakers climbed within nine, 70-61, with 10 minutes left, but Cam Baker had a dunk and a layup and JaCori Payne added a layup to extend the margin back to 15 points, 76-61.

Five CSU players scored in double figures.

Baker led the way with 19 points, followed by Brentine Taylor with 17, Brent Jackson and Payne with 16 apiece and DeMarcus McVay with 10.

COLUMBUS STATE (20-6, 14-5 PBC)

Cam Baker 8-15 3-6 19; Brentine Taylor 6-8 5-6 17; JaCori Payne 6-9 2-2 16;Brent Jackson 5-13 1-2 16; DeMarcus McVay 5-9 0-0 10; Arben Camaj 4-7 0-0 8;Demetres Abrams 1-4 0-0 3; Dixon,Marcus 1-2 0-0 2; Jamal McKee 1-1 0-0 2;Markis Boyd 0-0 0-0 0; Matthias Sigurdarson 0-0 0-0 0; Denard Williams 0-00-0 0; Darren Daniel 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37-68 11-16 93.

CLAYTON STATE (14-12, 9-10 PBC)

Davis,Alfonso 9-17 2-2 21; Powell,Nathan 7-11 3-3 17; Terry,Saiquan 5-9 0-011; Knight,Takija 5-14 0-0 10; Henry,SirDarius 2-7 0-0 6; Bell,Richard 1-41-2 3; Johnson,Tj 1-2 0-0 2; Bennamon,Dantez 0-8 2-2 2; Gibbons,Malique 0-00-0 0; Joseph,Kendall 0-1 0-0 0; Clark,Marquise 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-74 8-9 72.

Halftime--Columbus State 50-34. 3-point goals--Columbus State 8-19 (Brent Jackson 5-9; JaCori Payne 2-4;Demetres Abrams 1-4; Arben Camaj 0-1; Cam Baker 0-1), Clayton State 4-19(Henry,SirDarius 2-6; Terry,Saiquan 1-3; Davis,Alfonso 1-4; Bennamon,Dantez0-2; Joseph,Kendall 0-1; Clark,Marquise 0-1; Knight,Takija 0-2). Fouledout--Columbus State-None, Clayton State-None. Rebounds--Columbus State 46(DeMarcus McVay 8), Clayton State 32 (Bennamon,Dantez 7). Assists--ColumbusState 16 (Cam Baker 5), Clayton State 8 (Bennamon,Dantez 2). Totalfouls--Columbus State 9, Clayton State 13. Technical fouls--ColumbusState-None, Clayton State-None. A-1092

This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 10:06 PM with the headline "Columbus State routs Clayton State to win Peach Belt title ."