Spring Sports Senior Night Photo Gallery I Women's Basketball Senior Night Photo Gallery
Men's Basketball Senior Night Photo Gallery
 
MORROW, Ga. – In their season finale, Clayton State (14-12, 9-10 PBC) could not stop a Columbus State (20-6, 14-5 PBC) team in pursuit of a title as they dropped a 93-72 decision in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Wednesday, February 24.
 
Junior forward Alfonso Davis (Bronx, N.Y.) led the way with 21 points and surpassed 1,000 points for his collegiate career early in the game. The latter was between his two years at Paine College and this season, all under head coach Jimmy Link.
 
He was joined by sophomore guard Nathan Powell (Orlando, Fla.) with 17 points and a pair of steals while senior forward Takija Knight (Crawfordville, Fla.) added 10 points and six rebounds in his final game as a Laker. Senior guard Saiquan Terry (Manchester, Ga.) finished with 11 points and sophomore guard Dantez Bennamon (Goose Creek, S.C.) chipped in with a team-high seven rebounds.
 
Following an early five point lead by the Cougars, neither team would be able to separate themselves by more than that five point margin over the first 13 minutes of the game. During that time the clubs deadlocked three times and saw the lead change hands a total of six times before Columbus took a narrow 31-29 lead at 6:53.
 
From there, the Cougars would push to a 36-29 advantage a little over a minute later before eventually extending to a 50-34 lead by the break. Over the final 6:53, they mounted a 19-5 run to get that 16 point margin.
 
In the second half, the Cougars would extend to a 20 point lead three times, the last coming at 64-44 with 14:11 on the clock. Over the next 4:11, the Lakers would respond with a 17-6 run to cut it to 70-61 with exactly 10 minutes to play.
 
That run would seem to be all Clayton State had in them, however, as Columbus State quickly extended to an 80-63 lead by the 6:58 mark. That would be all they would need as they polished off the 93-72
 
Cam Baker led five double-figure scorers with 19 points to go with five boards while Brent Jackson had 16 points and seven caroms. Brentine Taylor added 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting and JaCori Payne had 16 points in 22 minutes. DeMarcus McVay notched a 10 point, eight rebound performance and Arben Camaj chipped in with eight points and six rebounds.
 
The Lakers close out the 2015-16 season with a 14-12 overall record and 9-10 mark in the highly competitive Peach Belt Conference.
 
NOTES
Alfonso Davis surpassed 1,000 points for his career, between Paine College and Clayton State, all under head coach Jimmy Link … the win by Columbus State gives them the Peach Belt Conference Regular Season Championship … the evening was Senior Night and the final home game in the careers of SirDarius Henry, Saiquan Terry, Takija Knight and Richard Bell.