The GC men’s basketball team (16-3, 8-2 PBC) picked up a 63-54 home win over conference foe Clayton State University Saturday Jan. 22.

The first quarter saw a slow start for both squads, but the Bobcats went into halftime with a 26-16 lead. GC did well on the glass as they out-rebounded the visiting Lakers 29-26. Forward Christian Koneman led the rebounding efforts, nabbing seven boards during the contest. Veteran guard Wesley Simpson led first-half scoring on bot sides with seven points.

Both teams kicked it into high gear in the second half, netting more than 30 points apiece. Star senior Jordan Thomas led the second-half scoring for GC with nine points, shooting 67% from beyond the arc. Koneman also grabbed five more boards, ending the game with a double-double of ten points and 12 rebounds. The Bobcats finished the conference match-up with three double-digit scores.

Chris Parks had an outstanding performance, scoring a team-high 13 points. Parks went 6 -for-7 from the field and drained his lone three-point attempt. He also made his presence known under the basket, corralling seven rebounds and adding a steal to his statline. Parks notched a total of 28 points during the week after dropping 15 against Young Harris three days earlier. The forward has had an incredibly efficient season, stepping into a bigger role with the departure of former Bobcat big man Kohl Roberts.

“We were swinging the ball a lot more,” Parks said. “Definitely got to give credit to the guards because they have been getting into the paint and dishing the ball to me. I will always take a man [defense] over a zone [defense] because I like to think I can score on anyone who’s guarding me.”

Thomas knocked in a total of 12 points, but his first bucket of the game meant so much more. He went up for an early layup and drew a foul to send him to the charity stripe for two shots. Thomas then banked the first one in to not only put the Bobcats up by three but to crack 2,000 career points as a Bobcat.

He became just the fourth player in PBS history to do so. This season, Thomas has nabbed four Bobcat Athlete of the Week honors and a PBC Player of the Week award, and he broke the all-time school record for career points on New Year’s Eve.

“I get in the gym a lot on my own, and I just try to get shots up,” Thomas said. “When I go out on the court, I just try to be a leader and lead my guys the best I can. When I took that first free throw, I was just thinking about leading my team and really focusing on making my shots. I honestly was more mad that I missed the second shot.”

The Bobcats are back in action Wednesday at home against Flagler, the top seed in the PBC. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. with live video and stat links available at GCBobcats.com.