MORROW, Ga. – Taking on their rival from just down the road, Clayton State (10-8, 5-4 PBC) led nearly wire-to-wire in knocking off Columbus State (12-5, 5-5 PBC) by an 86-79 score in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Saturday, January 21.
 
Junior guard Dantez Bennamon (Goose Creek, S.C.) flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 10 points, seven rebounds and career-high eight assists in 33 minutes. Graduate forward Jaumonee Byrd (Douglasville, Ga.) notched another impressive outing as he came away with his fifth double-double, and second straight, with 12 points, 10 boards and a pair of assists.

Joining them was redshirt-senior forward Alfonso Davis (Bronx, N.Y.) with 15 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists and freshman guard Kyle Kincey (Tallahassee, Fla.) with a career-high 13 points. Senior guard Maurice White (Baltimore, Md.) and freshman guard Christoff Nairn (Boynton Beach, Fla.) each added 11 points and junior guard Nathan Powell (Orlando, Fla.) chipped in with 10 points and three steals.

The Lakers would come out of the gate strong as they raced out to a 23-8 lead over the first 11:41 before Columbus State cut it to 32-24 behind a 15-9 stretch just under six minutes later. The Cougars would cut it to six with 1:06 left in the opening frame before a put back by Powell made it 36-28 at the break.

Clayton State would open the second half by scoring 15 of the first 24 points to push their lead to 51-37 with 13:48 remaining. Back-to-back baskets by John Lambert stemmed the tide and cut it to 51-42 but the Lakers came right back with a 17-6 run that powered the margin out to 68-48 with 8:59 to play.

Columbus would rally to within 10 points on five separate occasions before slipping under double-figures at 80-72 with 1:08 left. They would eventually get it to a six point margin, 85-79, before the Lakers salted away the hard-fought seven point victory seconds later.

Arben Camaj led the Cougars with 18 points and eight rebounds while Jacori Payne had matched him with 18 points and added four assists. Markis Boyd added nine points and Lambert and Michael Graham each had eight points to round out the top performers.

The Lakers now hit the road for three straight games beginning at Georgia Southwestern on Wednesday, February 25. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. following the conclusion of the women's contest.

NOTES
The victory is Clayton State's first over Columbus State since a 73-71 decision at The Loch on December 17, 2012 … it snaps a seven-game series win streak for the Cougars … Bennamon's eight assists surpass his previous career-high of seven, set in each of his previous two seasons … with the win, the Lakers are third (.556 winning percentage) in the Peach Belt Conference West Division, trailing only Young Harris (.625) and Montevallo (.600).