Clayton State men finish off Edward Waters with 54-44 triumph

MORROW, Ga. – December 3, 2011 – The Clayton State Laker men's basketball team may not have started well on Saturday, but it was how it finished that mattered the most.

The Lakers finished both halves on strong runs, and that proved to be the difference as Clayton State downed visiting Edward Waters 54-44 at the Athletics and Fitness Center. The victory was the third straight for the Lakers, which improved to 5-1 overall. Meanwhile, Edward Waters fell to 5-5 overall after falling in both of its game on a weekend area swing.

Clayton State finished the first half on a 13-2 run to lead 28-23 at halftime. However, it was the second half where the Lakers really made their move. They finished the game by wiping out a seven-point Edward Waters lead with a 21-4 run in the final nine minutes of the contest, holding the Tigers without a field goal during the that rally.

The Lakers trailed 21-15 in the first half when Tony Dukes and Torrin Greene each connected on 3-point baskets to trim the Edward Waters lead to two points. Clayton State took the lead on four free throws before a Teondre Williams 3-point basket gave the Lakers the five-point halftime cushion.

Clayton State increased its lead early in the second half to 33-27 before going nearly six minutes without scoring. Edward Waters took control with a 13-0 run and led 40-33 with 9:18 remaining on a jumper by Carlton Darling.

However, the Lakers rallied as a Greene 3-point basket trimmed the Tiger lead to two points, and a Williams jumper tied the game at 41-41 at the 6:12 mark. But the shot of the game came with 2:31 remaining when Williams was fouled connecting on a 3-point basket. He hit the free throw for the 4-point play and a 49-42 Laker lead.

Williams again was the Lakers' catalyst with 24 points on a perfect 7-for-7 shooting from the free throw line. Junior center Tyrone Black grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. As a team, Clayton State limited Edward Waters to only 27 percent shooting from the field and only 20 percent from 3-point range,.

Dylan Watts paced the Tigers with nine points, followed by Charles Evans and Robert Martina each with eight points.

Clayton State will take this coming week off for final exams before traveling to Carrollton next Monday (Dec. 12) for a rematch against in-state rival West Georgia.