Lamario Latson and his teammates aren't bothered by the fact that Albany State already wrapped up the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title.
"That's just regular season," Latson said.
The Lions have their eyes fixed on a much bigger prize - next week's conference tournament championship.
Paine survived a second-half meltdown Thursday night to knock off the league's best team, 69-65, at Carter Gym.
"This is big," Latson said. "It gives us a lot of momentum. It gives us a lot of confidence for the tournament."
The Lions (15-11, 13-6) have won six consecutive conference games and are now in position to finish as the league's runner-up. With a win at home Saturday against Benedict, Paine will earn the No. 2 seed and a bye into the SIAC tournament quarterfinals.
Daniel Lomax scored a game-high 18 points with five assists to lead the Lions. Chris Jackson added 12 points, while Nate Lewis chipped in with 10 points and five assists. Latson added 15 boards.
Paine led by as many as 15 on a Lomax runner with 7:26 remaining, but Albany State (16-11, 15-5) responded with a 14-2 run. The Lions led 60-57 with 3:35 left.
Lomax quelled the Rams' momentum. After a layup, he raced downcourt and blocked Frank Pinson's fast-break layup attempt. Lomax then added another layup to push the advantage back to seven.
"I was concerned, especially when they got down within three," Paine coach Ron Spry said. "They have an excellent ball team. It seems like every year we play them it's an exceptionally close game."
The win helped Paine avenge a one-point road loss to the Rams in January. Albany State junior center Gabriel Lee dominated the first meeting, scoring 23 points in 27 minutes.
Lee, who left the program at Division I Massachusetts in April 2004, began playing for the Rams on Jan. 15, four games into 2005.
This time, Lee managed just 10 points with four blocks.
• The Paine women shot a whopping 68 percent in the second half and pulled out a 76-73 win over the Lady Rams.
"The offense really came together tonight," Lady Lions coach Selina Kohn said.
"In practice (Wednesday), we worked on putting the fun back in the game. The past few games, they looked like they dreaded being out there."
Paine improved to 15-10 overall, 13-4 in conference play. The Lady Lions can finish no worse than third in the SIAC.
Paine freshman guard Chantal Murray bested her former Hephzibah teammates and current Lady Rams freshman forwards Joycelyn and Jacquelyn Nelson. Murray scored a team-high 15 points with six assists, while the Nelsons combined for five points. Also, Augusta native La'Toya Coard, an Albany State freshman guard, had nine points.
Reach Chris Gay at (706) 823-3645 or chris.gay@augustachronicle.com.
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