Rebounding drives Paine's turnaround

Reviewing and previewing local college basketball:

WHO'S HOT: Jen Kennedy. The USC Aiken forward, averaging 8.5 points a game, has scored 59 points the past three games

WHO'S NOT: UNC Pembroke women. Losing seems to be contagious in Pembroke, N.C. While the men remain winless at 0-20, the Lady Braves haven't fared much better. The UNC Pembroke women have lost nine of their past 10 games and are 5-13, 1-11 in the Peach Belt.

STAT OF THE WEEK: The Paine women's turnaround this season is based on one thing: rebounding. The Lady Lions outrebound opponents by more than seven per game (48.9-41.6).

RANKING THE MEN'S TEAMS:

1. Augusta State (12-8, 8-4). Winning at USC Spartanburg has never come easy, but the Jaguars must do so today to stay atop the Peach Belt North Division.

2. Aiken Tech (12-11, 7-4). Knights end the regular season with six straight home games, five of them conference tilts.

3. Paine (8-11, 3-7). Lions have played better of late, and maybe tonight's homecoming game against Voorhees (7:30 p.m. at Augusta State University) will help Paine get back on track.

4. USC Aiken (2-18, 1-11). The bad news: Pacers play host to No. 7 Columbus State on Sunday. The good news? USC Aiken plays UNC Pembroke on Feb. 19.

RANKING THE WOMEN'S TEAMS:

1. Augusta State (13-6, 8-4). A combination of five Lady Jaguar wins or USC Aiken losses will give Augusta State its first Peach Belt North title.

2. Paine (14-6, 7-3). Germaletta Dyson is second nationally in Division II with 13.5 rebounds per game.

3. USC Aiken (14-9, 5-7). Don't look now, but Lander is a half-game behind the Lady Pacers in the division.

GAME OF THE WEEK: No. 19 Columbus State women at USC Aiken, Sunday, 2 p.m. The Lady Cougars (19-1) are rolling with 14 straight wins, but if there's any chink in the armor, it is road play. The Lady Cougars' lone loss came at Georgia College & State.

THEY SAID IT

"He just froze all five guys out there. Then it was like he could just walk his path to the basket, like Moses parting the Red Sea," said Columbus State's Jon Antonelli in The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer about guard Deshawn Bowman. Bowman scored 19 second-half points in the Cougars' 73-62 win over Clayton State on Wednesday.