National CBS television game highlights 2012-13 men’s basketball schedule

MORROW, GA  – The Clayton State men's basketball program has announced its schedule for the 2012-13 season, and for the first time in school history, fans all across the country will have the opportunity to see head coach Gordon Gibbons' Lakers live in action.

 The highlight of this year's schedule is a Saturday, February 16^th matchup with the Montevallo Falcons, which will be the national NCAA Division II Game of the Week and be televised across the country live on the CBS College Sports network. The nationally televised game will be the first for the Laker men's program. Tip-off for the contest in Montevallo, AL is set for 11 a.m. CDT.

 "This national game is great exposure for our University, and our program," said head coach Gordon Gibbons, entering his 11^th season at Clayton State. "We are excited CBS selected Clayton State."

 Montevallo is the NCAA Division II runner-up from the 2011-12 season and Clayton State gave its Peach Belt West rival Falcons all they could handle last year before falling 77-74 in overtime at the Athletics and Fitness Center.

 Along with the nationally televised game, other highlights of the 2012-13 season include 16 home games, the continuance of an in-state rivalry and the renewal of play against a metro-Atlanta foe in the non-conference schedule. The Lakers also have 13 games – home and away – against teams that advanced to last season's NCAA Division II National Tournament, including two games against the NCAA Division II national runner-up.

 It all starts on Tuesday, November 14, when Clayton State plays host to Tennessee Temple at the Athletics and Fitness Center.

 "Our schedule is one of the toughest in school history and includes 19 league games," said Gibbons. "It will be challenging."

 One of the highlights of the non-conference schedule will be Clayton State's home-and-home matchup with rival West Georgia. The first game will be at the Athletics & Fitness Center on November 20^th, while the return game will be in Carrollton at the Coliseum on December 11^th. The Lakers and Wolves split games last year and Clayton State has won six of the last eight games against West Georgia.

 Clayton State will also renew a rivalry against cross-town foe Clark-Atlanta, playing the Panthers for the first time since 2009. The Lakers will host Clark-Atlanta, from the SIAC, on Saturday, December 1^st.  

 The Lakers will open their Peach Belt Conference schedule on the road in Americus, facing in-state opponent Georgia Southwestern on Saturday, December 15^th. The squad will turn right around and open its home league schedule two days later against another long-time rival in Columbus State on the December 17^th.

 This year's league schedule will consist of 19 Peach Belt game with the addition of a new team in Young Harris College to the conference. The Lakers will host the Mountain Lions on Thursday, January 24^th at the Athletics & Fitness Center.

 A couple of other notably league games will be Saturday, February 9^th, as the Lakers host Montevallo for Homecoming and the Saturday, February 23^rd contest against Georgia Southwestern, which will be Senior Night.

 Clayton State closes its regular season on the road at the Lumpkin Center on the campus of Columbus State on March 2^nd, the site of the 2013 Peach Belt Conference Basketball Championships, which will be held the following week.

 Clayton State is coming off a solid 16-win season and returns three starters off that team. Gibbons also has an impressive recruiting class that features six new players to the fold, including four, four-year transfers, one junior college transfer and a talented freshman from the high school ranks.