AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Paine College men's basketball team overcame a double-digit deficit in the second half and had a huge defensive stand in the waning seconds for an 80-79 victory over Voorhees.
The Lions were led by
Nate Adams 26 points and eight rebounds.
Quinnton Jackson netted 18 points while
Elijah Greer had 11 points and 11 rebounds to go along with five assists and four steals.
Calvin Johnson chipped in 10 points while
Jakobe Williams and
Kole Taylor added eight and seven points, respectively.
In the first half, Adams got things going with a dunk to make it 6-4. He then nailed a three-point shot for a 7-6 advantage. Another shot from distance by Adams propelled the Lions to a 10-6 lead.
PC led 10-9 before Adams hit a three-point shot. Moments later, Jackson nailed a three-ball for a 16-9 edge.
The Lions trialed 35-27 before
Elijah Greer hit a jumper. With 4:27 to go, Jackson buried a jump shot to pull the squad within four, 35-31. An old-fashioned three-point play by
Calvin Johnson allowed the Lions to make it 35-34. However, the visitors netted six of the final seven points in the period for a 41-36 lead at the break.
Paine trailed 63-49 before making a frenetic run late in the second half. A Greer jumper made it a 10-point game.
Kole Taylor's three-point shot moments later made it 65-58. Down 68-58, Adams took a pass from Greer and made a lay-up. Greer's jumper pulled the team within six, 70-64, with 5:18 to play.
Down by 10, 77-67, Taylor netted four straight points. An Adams dunk made it 77-73. Trailing by six, Jackson nailed a three-point shot to make it a 79-76 contest.
After a foul, Jackson hit two charity tosses with 28 ticks to go, pulling the home team within one. Then, a steal by Jackson led to a foul by the visitors. At that point, Adams went to the foul line and hit tow for an 80-79 lead with 13 seconds to play.
For the game, Paine hit 26-of-62 from the floor, including eight-of-21 from the three-point line. The squad tallied 32 points in the paint and netted 14 second-chance points.
The Lions defended a last-second three-point attempt and it narrowly missed, sending the home squad to a victory in the regular-season finale.
