AIKEN, S.C. --- Augusta State All-American senior forward Tyrekus "A.J." Bowman lay on the floor Friday gazing ahead in stunned silence.

Bowman missed a pair of jump shots in the final 20 seconds, as the 10th-ranked Jaguars blew a six-point lead in the final 1:23, losing to Clayton State, 63-62, in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

With the upset loss, Augusta State (22-6) became the third local team to make an early exit from the tournament, following the Augusta State and USC Aiken women. The Jaguars are locked into the NCAA Division II Tournament but now must wait until Sunday night's selection show to see if they will still play host to the South Atlantic Regional.

"It's disappointing," Augusta State coach Dip Metress said, "but there will be a tomorrow."

Augusta State, the tournament's No. 2 seed, led the majority of the game, but dropped its third postseason contest in the past two seasons by a combined five points. The Jaguars, bounced last year from the Peach Belt semifinals by Clayton State, led 62-56 with 1:23 remaining. But the seventh-seeded Lakers scored the final seven points for the victory.

"This was a great win for us and it keeps us alive," Clayton State coach Gordon Gibbons said. The Lakers (15-14), who advance to play Georgia College and State at 6 tonight in the semifinals, have to win the tournament for a berth in the Division II Tournament.

Augusta State blew an 11-point halftime lead only to rebound. Jaguars all-conference guard Ben Madgen missed his first 11 shots, but drained No. 12, a 3-pointer from the wing. He then added a layup. Augusta State led by seven with three minutes remaining.

Jaguars senior guard Demetrius Howard converted two foul shots with 1:23 left, staking Augusta State to its 62-56 lead. Then it all fell apart.

Michael Sloan knocked down a 3-pointer for the Lakers. Then Madgen turned the ball over. Bernard Fields added another 3-pointer, tying it at 62.

Bowman, the co-conference Player of the Year, scored a team-high 15 points, but had just four after halftime. The conference's second-leading rebounder, he grabbed just two boards and committed two turnovers.

The second turnover was the costly one. Bowman, who committed two turnovers in the final moments of last year's semifinal loss to Clayton State, got stripped by Will Lewis with 42 seconds remaining.

Later, all-conference center Garret Siler committed his fifth foul, sending Lewis to the line. Lewis made one of two free throws to give the Lakers their second lead of the game with 20 seconds left.

Augusta State didn't call a timeout. Instead, the Jaguars got the ball to Bow-man, who uncharacteristically stayed out of the paint most of the game. He pulled up from 15 feet, missed and grabbed the rebound. Bowman then threw up a wild 3-point attempt that missed badly at the buzzer.

"He took a couple of shots he wants back, I know that, in the second half. He just wants to win," Metress said.