ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Trailing in the second half, Clayton State (9-6, 4-4 PBC) battled back against a scrappy  Flagler (6-10, 2-5 PBC) squad to come away with a 87-73 victory in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Saturday, January 16.
 
Junior forward Alfonso Davis (Bronx, N.Y.), fresh off of tying the program record for rebounds with 19, had another tremendous game. This time he finished with 22 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and five blocks while senior forward Takija Knight (Crawfordville, Fla.) had 15 points and nine rebounds, six of which came off of the offensive glass.
 
Senior guard Saiquan Terry (Manchester, Ga.) added 15 points, on 4-of-7 three-point shooting, and a team-high tying five assists and senior guard SirDarius Henry (Atlanta, Ga.) had 10 points as the team's fourth double-figure scorer. Junior guard Maurice White (Baltimore, Md.) chipped in with nine points in 12 minutes of work.
 
The clubs would tie three times and the lead would change hands seven times in the first 5:28, leaving Flagler with a narrow 10-9 advantage. A 6-0 burst over the next 2:44 by the Lakers then gave them a 15-9 lead before the Saints used a 17-6 run to flip the script and give them the lead at 26-21 with 5:57 left in the half.
 
Clayton State would weather that storm and eventually claw back to within 29-27 before FC closed with five of the last seven points to take a 34-29 lead to the break.
 
The Lakers would remain within striking distance at the start of the second half and trailed just 43-39 at the 15:22 mark. That would pay off as three straight baskets by Davis would then key a 14-1 run that included a pair of threes from Terry on their way to a 53-44 lead with 11:54 left.
 
With the lead cut to four behind a 5-0 burst just over a minute later, Clayton State responded by scoring seven of the next 10 points to push back out to a comfortable 60-52 advantage. Following a Saints bucket to cut it to six, the Lakers used a 14-8 stretch over the next 2:50 to extend to a 74-60 margin before wrapping up the 87-73 victory.
 
Matt Clark finished with 18 points, four assists and a pair of steals in 35 minutes to lead FC while Keith Gray had 14 points and a team-best eight boards. Jeffercy Jean came away with 15 points and six boards and Nick Grier had 11 points and six rebounds to round out the double-figure scorers. Kessler Bell added eight points and Ben Bobbitt notched five points and a game-high six assists in 28 minutes.
 
The Lakers return to action on Monday, January 18 when they host UNC Pembroke on Military Appreciation Day. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. at The Loch following the conclusion of the women's game.
 
NOTES
Over this last two games, Davis has totaled 50 points, 34 rebounds, eight blocks and eight assists for averages of 25.0 points, 17.0 rebounds, 4.0 blocks and 4.0 assists.