Jan. 18--Aiken Technical College head coach Bruce Capers lamented before Monday night's meeting with USC-Salkehatchie that his Knights, losers of five of their last seven games coming into the Martin Luther King Jr. Day battle with the Indians, had been in every game all season but had somehow found a way to lose most of them in the closing seconds. The seventh year coach predicted that those breaks would eventually start going his team's way.
Monday wasn't the night.
Trailing by two points with 18.6 seconds left to play, ATC had the ball last with a chance to win the game. It even had a good look when Jamar Jackson, who had already knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, had an open shot in the corner that would have won the game. The Lexington native's jumper, though, clanged off the rim, and the putback attempt by Anthony Rapley also came up empty as USC-S (11-9) celebrated a 57-55 victory over the Knights (8-11) in front of a fired up crowd participating in a "Gold Out" at the ATC Student Activities Center.
"At some point, we have to learn how to close these games out," said Capers of the game's final seconds. "(Jackson) is one of the best shooters I've ever coached. He's made plenty of those for us, and I thought it was a great situation for him. We got the look we wanted, but the shot just didn't go."
The bounces may not have gonw the Knights' way down the stretch, but it was one glaring weakness the rest of the game that Capers will remember most when looking back at what could have been. ATC struggled mightily at the free throw line, making just 5 of 13 attempts from the charity stripe. In a game that was so tightly contested, those miscues proved costly.
"I truly felt that was the difference in the ball game," said Capers.
ATC also had a difficult time finding an answer for USC-S sophomore Donald Sims in the paint. The 6-foot-6 Chester native scored a game-high 19 points and dominated the glass, coming close to a triple-double with a pile of blocked shots, as well.
The Knights gave themselves a chance, going on a 9-0 run at the end of the first half to take a 29-25 lead into the locker room and then coming back from a 48-42 hole with eight minutes left to set up the late-game drama.
Deantre Johnson led ATC with nine points, while Jackson, Lavaron Rason and Archie Adams had eight each. Adams, a South Aiken High School product, scored six of his points late in the second half to help keep ATC around.
"Archie always plays hard," said Capers. "You never have to worry about that. He defends well, and he usually makes shots."
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