MORROW, Ga. – In front of nearly 500 Clayton County Middle school students, Clayton State (5-4, 0-0 PBC) battled through early doldrums before posting a commanding 83-57 victory over Carver (0-12) in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Thursday, December 15.
 
Graduate forward Jaumonee Byrd (Douglasville, Ga.) put up impressive numbers as he finished with a double-double of 20 points and 11 boards while junior guard Nathan Powell (Orlando, Fla.) added 14 points, five assists, five steals and five boards.
 
They were joined by redshirt-senior forward Alfonso Davis (Bronx, N.Y.) with a solid all-around game of eight points, nine rebounds, four of those offensive, three blocks, two steals and a pair of assists. Junior guard Kendall Joseph (Snellville, Ga.) rounded out the top performances with 11 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the foul line.
 
Played before nearly 500 Students on Clayton County Middle School Honors Day, the teams would be neck-and-neck early on as they deadlocked four times and saw the lead change hands five times over the first 9:48. After finally locking horns at 17-17, the Lakers would dominate the remainder of the half as they exploded for a 26-8 run over the final 10:12 to take a solid 43-25 lead into the break.
 
Clayton State would continue that run as they scored the first seven points of the second half and eventually built a 60-37 by the 9:26 mark. A 9-2 run by the Cougars would pull them to within 16 points, 64-46, with 7:25 left but they would get no closer as the Lakers pulled away for the 83-57 victory.
 
Donavan Gardener led the way for Carver with a team-high 18 points along with five boards and Akerannan Achii ripped down 10 rebounds with five points. Jamil Saaka added six points and seven caroms while former Laker Malique Gibbons chipped in with 10 points.
 
The Lakers have now concluded non-conference action and will open their Peach Belt Conference slate with a trip to UNC Pembroke on Saturday, December 17. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m. in UNC Pembroke.
 
NOTES
The victory is the 100^th of head coach Jimmy Link's career between both Clayton State and Paine College … the Lakers are 13-0 all-time against Carver dating back to the first meeting in 2003 … Clayton County Middle School Honors Day presented by Davis Family Orthodontics recognized those students from 18 county middle schools for qualifying for the 2016 Fall Semester "A" Honor Roll.