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Page 19
Campus Review
November 13, 2013
#3 Clayton State Improves to
2-0 With 64-48 Win Over Tampa
by Gid Rowell
After pulling out a close one on Friday,
the #3 Clayton State women’s basketball
team came back with a decisive victory on
Saturday, defeating Tampa 64-48 in the
Spartan Challenge.
The Lakers took control of the game in
the opening period, taking a 37-17 lead at
halftime. Clayton State used a 23-8 run
over the final 11 minutes of the period en
route to the victory.
Junior forward Yishica Sims ignited the
run with a 3-pointer at the 10:53 mark to
give the squad a 17-8 lead, while senior
center Shacamra “Shay Shay” Jackson
had six points during the game-changing
stretch. A layup by forward Andrea
Benford gave the Lakers a 20-point lead
at intermission. In the second half of the
game, the Lakers led by double digits for
the entire 20 minutes of the period.
“I was really proud of the way of the way
our kids guarded today,” says head coach
Dennis Cox. “Tampa is a really good team
with a lot of size, and we knew it would
take our best effort to get a win.”
Laker sophomore guard Valencia
“Tweety” Hawkins excelled in the game,
leading the Lakers with 16 points and hit-
ting 7-of-11 from the floor. Jackson fin-
ished with 14 points and seven rebounds,
while Sims chipped in eight points.
“Shay controlled the paint, and we got
great contributions from newcomers
Tweety Hawkins and Tiayra Green,” said
Cox. “It was just a good win for this new
team. I thought we took a big step towards
finding ourselves and creating our own
identity today.”
With the win, the Lakers improve to 2-0
overall on the season. Clayton State
extends its regular season winning streak
to 36 games, dating back to the 2011-12
season. The program is also riding a 33-
game road winning streak. The loss evens
Tampa to 1-1 on the year.
Clayton State’s signature defense held
Tampa to under 30 percent (13-of-44)
shooting for the game and only 21 percent
(4-of-21) in first half. The Lakers shot 49
percent (9-of-22) in the first half and 46
percent (25-of-55) for the game.
The Lakers will open their home schedule
on Tuesday, Nov. 19, hosting Union in a
5:30 p.m. contest at the Athletics Center.
Men's Basketball Falls in Season Opener
Crusaders also held a 37-25 advantage on
the boards.
The Lakers will return to action on
Sunday, Nov. 17, traveling to face Tampa
in a 4 p.m. contest. Clayton State will
open its home slate of games on Saturday,
Nov. 23, hosting Claflin in a 4 p.m. game
at the Athletics Center.
The Clayton State men’s basketball team
fell in its season opener Saturday to
Belmont Abbey 92-81 in Charlotte, N.C.
The Lakers trailed by only five points, 69-
64, at the 8:43 mark of the second half
after a jumper by forward Charles
Shedrick, but a 10-2 run over the next four
minutes proved to be the difference in the
game. Belmont Abbey took a 13-point
lead, 79-66, on the second of two free
throws by Chris Davis and held on for the
victory.
Clayton State rallied down stretch and cut
the lead to seven points, 88-81, with 56
seconds remaining on a 3-pointer by
guard Kelsey Terry, but the Crusaders hit
their free throws in the final seconds,
going 4-of-4.
Junior guard Terry led the Lakers with 22
points, hitting 9-of-16 from the floor.
Senior guard Craig Wong finished with 19
points and six rebounds in the game.
Senior forward Charles Shedrick added
10 points.
For Belmont Abbey, Davis led the way
with 21 points, followed by Jonathon
Garrett with 20 points and Darryl Durham
with 17.
Clayton State shot 45 percent (29-of-64)
from the floor, while Belmont hit 56 per-
cent (30-of-54) from the field. The
Kemboi Third at
NCAA D-II Southeast
Regionals; Qualifies
For National Cross
Country Meet
Clayton State men’s cross country runner
Job Kemboi placed third in the NCAA
Division II Southeast Regional Saturday
and qualified for the NCAA Division II
National Championship meet later this
month.
Kemboi, a sophomore runner from
Eldoret, Kenya, finished with a time of
31:09.9 in the 10K race, setting a new
school record in the event for the Lakers.
He becomes the first Laker male runner to
qualify for the national meet since Fedelis
Mutiso in 2010.
Kemboi was less than a second from sec-
ond place and 20 seconds behind meet
winner Dylan Lafond of Mount Olive.
With his performance, Kemboi earned
All-Region honors and will take off next
week before competing in the national
championship meet in Spokane, Wash., on
Nov. 23.
As a team, the Lakers finished 20th over-
all out of 28 teams in the meet at
McAlpine Creek Park in Charlotte, N.C.