Paine snaps winless streak

Maurice Campbell pumped his fist as the clock struck zero. His Paine teammates smiled.

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The Lions finally snapped a season-long spell Thursday night and spread some holiday cheer throughout Carter Gym.

Daniel Lomax scored 19 as Paine overcame a seven-point deficit in the final eight minutes to upend Saint Augustine's, 70-66.

"It was a lot of pressure being 0-5," Lomax said. "It brings our confidence back up. We were starting to get down on ourselves."

Paine (1-5) put it all together down the stretch after blowing second-half opportunities against Augusta State and Georgia College & State. The Lions converted 19 of 24 attempts from the foul line, including 5 of 6 in the final 1:09.

Lomax went 6-for-10 from the field and added three assists and three steals. Campbell went 7-for-13 from the floor for 14 points, including two buckets in the final two minutes.

"I give the guys credit," Paine coach Ron Spry said. "They were determined, focused and played hard."

In his 25th season, Spry couldn't recall a time when any of his teams entered the Christmas break winless. This year's team, which is off until Dec. 26 and won't play again until Jan. 4, prevented a new record.

Paine, passing the ball around the perimeter and looking for the open shot, ran a more-patient offense against Saint Augustine's than it had in previous games. The Lions led 46-39 after a Lomax bank shot before the Falcons got hot.

Saint Augustine's (4-5) broke off a 16-2 run to regain control. A Bruce Shingler free throw staked the Falcons to a 55-48 lead with 8:31 left.

In the meantime, Spry urged his team to "run the offense." He inserted guard Justin Durham off the bench to slow the game down. Spry's move paid off as the Lions pulled within two. Dwayne Jones then banked in a 3-pointer to give the lead back to Paine.

The Lions, who held the Falcons to three field goals over the final 11 minutes, found themselves down three with 2 minutes to go. But Campbell lobbed in a rainbow jumper and Lomax later added a pair of free throws. Campbell added a baseline jumper to break a 63-all tie.

"We've been practicing hard since we started," Campbell said. "We knew it was just a matter of time."

Senior guard Nate Lewis iced the game with three free throws the final 30 seconds.

Paine now will enter 2005 with a victory before jumping back into conference play.

"At this point in the year, you want to go out on a positive note," Spry said.

Reach Chris Gay at (706) 823-3645 or chris.gay@augustachronicle.com.