A furious, late Clark Atlanta University Panthers comeback fell short as they lost to Fort Valley State 63-56 Tuesday at L.S. Epps Gymnasium in their final home game of the season.

The Panthers (11-14, 5-11 SIAC) had trailed by as much as 22 points to Fort Valley State (6-18, 5-10 SIAC) midway through the second half.   But fueled by a big Chris Martin second half, the Panthers were able to cut that lead down to single digits.

Martin hit one-of-two free throws with 2:32 remaining to pull the Panthers to within six at 56-50 as a loud, capacity crowd went wild.  FVSU was able to stretch the lead to nine after a KJ Doucet basket followed by a Ty'Reek Johnson layup that made it 61-52 with 1:09 left.

The Panthers had one last run in them, with Jalen Williams hitting a basket and Justin Longstreet following with a layup to pull to within five at 61-56 with 35 seconds left. But the Panthers missed their final two 3-point attempts and Doucet hit two free throws with 11 seconds left to put the game away for FVSU.

The Panthers never led in the game as they suffered through a rough shooting night.  CAU hit only 27.9 percent of their shots while FVSU hit nearly 48 percent of their shots and nine 3-pointers.

Martin, who had 14 points and seven rebounds in the second half, finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds.  Williams added 12 points and four boards.  Shannon Smith had eight points, four rebounds, an assist and a steal while Javonte Sterling had eight points and three rebounds.

Smith, Rodney Simon, Eric Reed Jr., Vernice Seriale III, Justin Longstreet, and Shane Pearley were all playing in their final home game on Senior Night. 

Kenton Eskridge led FVSU with 20 points while Doucet had nine points and ten rebounds.  Quincy Young also had nine points.

The Panthers close out the regular season Thursday when they visit LeMoyne-Owen.  Clark Atlanta then takes part in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament that begins on Feb. 28.