DAHLONEGA, Ga. – Clayton State (8-5, 3-3 PBC) used a 20-0 second half run to get back into the game before holding on for a 76-74 victory at North Georgia (4-11, 2-4 PBC) in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Saturday, January 9.
 
Junior forward Alfonso Davis (Bronx, N.Y.) had a career game with 24 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks while sophomore guard Nathan Powell (Orlando, Fla.) had eight points, seven boards and four assists in 37 minutes of action.
 
They were joined by sophomore guard Dantez Bennamon (Goose Creek, S.C.) with 10 points and eight rebounds and senior guard Saiquan Terry (Manchester, Ga.) with 15 points. Senior forward Takija Knight (Crawfordville, Fla.) added eight points and five rebounds and senior center Richard Bell (West Sussex, England) finished with seven points and seven caroms.
 
The teams would deadlock at 7-7 over the first 3:30 before the Lakers would put together a 14-7 stretch to take a 21-14 lead by the 11:15 mark. A 6-2 stretch by UNG then narrowed the gap to 23-20, a margin that would eventually reach 27-25 with 6:18 left in the half. With Clayton State holding a 35-29 lead at the 2:40 mark, the Nighthawks closed the half with a 6-0 run to knot the score at 35-35 at the break.
 
At the start of the second half, the lead would change hands three times and the score would deadlock twice more as North Georgia took a one point lead and extended to a 44-39 margin by the 17:05 mark. They would maintain the lead and eventually push it to 56-47 with 13:01 to play.
 
At that point, the Lakers surged back with an incredible 20 straight points over the next 5:17 to flip the script and retake the lead at 67-56 at the 7:44 mark. A jumper by Sean Brennan would snap the streak with 7:22 to play but it would not matter as the damage was already done.
 
That would not deter the Nighthawks, however, as they came right back with a 10-1 run to cut it to 68-67 at the 4:19 mark. A pair of Powell free throws would then push the margin to three and would quickly be answered with a matching pair of free throws to put it back to a one point difference. That series would repeat itself, this time following a bucket by Bennamon and left the Lakers with a 72-71 advantage with 2:41 remaining.
 
Bennamon would hit another layup and it would be T.J. Williams who would convert two more free throws for UNG to put it at 74-73 and 1:17 left. With 27 seconds to go, it would be Williams at the line again, who had already made his first 15 free throws on the day, promptly missed the front end of two shots before sinking the second to tie the game at 74-74.
 
Following a timeout, Clayton State retook the floor and, after working the ball through the offense, handed it off to Davis who drove to the hole and laid it in for the lead with three seconds to go. The Nighthawks raced up court, finding Brennan in the corner for a long jumper that banged off the far side of the rim, locking up the narrow 76-74 victory for the Lakers.
 
Williams led all scorers with 26 points, going 16-of-17 from the foul line, while Juan Rivas had 14 points and 11 rebounds in 26 minutes. Michael Varrichione finished with six points eight rebounds and three blocks and Tanner Plemmons chipped in with nine points.
 
The Lakers will be back in action when they play host to Georgia College (11-4, 4-2 PBC) on Wednesday, January 13, who is directly in front of them in the PBC West Division standings. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at The Loch following the conclusion of the women's game.