MORROW, Ga. – Clayton State (11-6, 6-4 PBC) rode a career-high 27 points from senior guard Saiquan Terry (Manchester, Ga.) as they picked up their third straight win, and fourth in five games as they held on against North Georgia (4-15, 2-8 PBC) for an 83-75 victory in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Sunday, January 24.
 
Terry drained five threes on his way to 27 points along with five boards and a pair of steals to lead the Lakers while junior forward Alfonso Davis (Bronx, N.Y.) finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and five blocks.
 
Sophomore guard Nathan Powell (Orlando, Fla.) posted a solid all-around game with nine points, six boards and a game-high five assists and sophomore guard Dantez Bennamon (Goose Creek, S.C.) added 12 points. Senior center Richard Bell (West Sussex, England) rounded out the top performers with six points and seven caroms, four off of the offensive glass.
 
The game would be the epitome of a back-and-forth affair over the first 6:39 as the lead changed hands seven times and deadlocked twice before UNG took a 15-14 advantage. The teams would then knot the score twice more, ending up at 20-20 by the 8:14 mark, before the Nighthawks used a 7-0 run to take a 27-20 advantage with 7:07 left in the half.
 
The Lakers would then surge back with an 11-3 run, fueled by three straight three-point bombs from Terry to flip the script and take a 31-30 lead at 3:53. That lead would be short lived, however, as the teams traded the next three buckets before North Georgia used a Sean Brennan three-pointer to stretch to a 37-33 margin with 2:23 left. The teams then split the final eight points of the half to head to the break with UNG holding a 41-37 lead.
 
The Nighthawks would come out firing at the start of the second half as Brennan scored five points and knocked down one of their two threes during an 8-0 run that left them with a 49-37 lead. With the margin at 51-40, the Lakers would quell that burst with a 7-0 stretch of their own to cut it to 51-47 by 15:50.
 
Back in the game, they would eventually get it down to 54-52 before tying it up at 58-58 with 11:53 on the clock. That would ignite a series of five ties and five lead changes, with the last lead change giving Clayton State a 70-68 advantage at the 6:50 mark. That was the beginning of a 7-3 stretch that pushed the lead to 75-71 with 5:55 remaining in the game.
 
UNG would close to within one behind a 5-1 burst but that would be as close as they would get. Over the final 3:41, the Lakers would outscore the Nighthawks 7-0 to lock up the 83-75 victory.  
 
T.J. Williams finished with 20 points, six rebounds and four blocks in 27 minutes to pace North Georgia while Tanner Plemmons and Ebo Smith had 14 and 12 points, respectively. Brennan added 14 points and six boards to go with three assists and Juan Rivas had a game-high 12 boards.
 
The Lakers return to action when they head to Georgia Southwestern to begin a three-game road trip on Wednesday, January 27. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. in Americus, Georgia.
 
NOTES
Terry surpassed his previous career-high of 26 points, set last year also against North Georgia (1/10).