Claflin head coach Ron Woodard continued to push his team with a little over two minutes left to play. He had no idea that he was up by 30 as the time dwindled down in Tullis Arena. Still, the important thing was the Panthers picked up a vital 75-50 conference win over Kentucky State.

Claflin (2-0, 2-0) entered halftime with a 30-24 lead despite shooting 41 percent from the field. Yet, Kentucky State turned the ball over 17 times in the first half alone. Knowing that, Woodard needed the Panthers to keep pressure on the ball.

“We know they’re great shooters,” Woodard said. “They’re a great, athletic team. We could not afford to let them see open shots. When they started the game, they were knocking down good tough shots. So, we knew if we make them move defensively and execute our offense, eventually in the latter part of the half, there was going to be some wear and tear.”

The Panthers forced 14 turnovers in the second half and shot 55 percent from the field. However, it was Claflin’s free-throw shooting that helped them run away with their second win in SIAC play.

“We had to knock down free throws,” Woodard said. “They’re a great free-throw shooting team as well and we wanted to keep them off the line. We wanted to be aggressive and we didn’t want to be passive with what was going on. They did a good job.”

Phillip Brown finished the night with a game-high 19 points for Claflin. The Panthers also got a lot of help scoring in the pain. Karl Ray tallied 13 while Benjamin Lawmann came away with 10 to give Claflin a huge lift.

“To be 6-8 or 6-9, we were standing up too much and not taking up enough space,” Woodard said of his team’s post players. “We’re 6-8 or 6-9 and about 230 or 245 (pounds). We’re not 6-8 and 280 or 290. We needed to get down, pin and pop and do what we do best.”

With two wins, the Panthers can’t rest on their early success. Woodard believes that they have to remain focused as they prepare for their trip to Clark-Atlanta on Saturday.

“We’ve got to build on it,” he said. “We’ve got to keep teaching and motivating. The only sad part about it is every game we play is a conference game. So, that’s our strength and our goal is to win our conference games.”

The Pantherettes weren’t as fortunate as they fell to the Thorobrettes 59-53.

Claflin trailed by one at the half before Kentucky State went on a 14-2 in the first five minutes of the second half. Even though the Pantherettes were able to get the Kentucky State lead down to three, committing 23 turnovers really hurt their chances of pulling out a win.

“We need to take care of the ball a little more,” Pantherettes assistant LaKisha Griffin said. “We need to be a little more cautious of who we’re trying to get the ball to and focus on our play.”

The Pantherettes’ leading scorer was Natalie Davis with nine points. Jayshaun Bailey was credited with eight while Lasaundra Barron recorded seven points in the loss.

MEN

CLAFLIN (75) - Phillip Brown 19, Karl Ray 13, Benjamin Lawmann 10, Bookman 8, Sinkfield 8, Cobb 7, Butler 4, Salley 2, Hines 2, Clyburn 2.

K-STATE (50) - Parysh Munroe 14, Dawkins 9, Gatson 8, McQueen 5, Brown 5, Hargrove 4, Gay 3, Rackaukas 2.

WOMEN

K-STATE (59) - Mattie Jones 18, Cortney Matthewis 10, Morgan 7, Vaughn 7, McCombs 6, Holt 5, Ward 3, Watkins 2, Greene 1.

CLAFLIN (53) - Davis 9, Bailey 8, Barron 7, Ja. Alexander 6, A. Lindsey 6, Sorrell-Gibson 4, C. Jenkins 4, Smalls 4, Essick 3, Ju. Alexander 2.

T&D Sports Writer Emery Glover can be reached by e-mail at eglover@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5532. Check out his blog, Cover 2, at www.TheTandD.com.

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