AMERICUS, Ga. – In a battle in the highly competitive Peach Belt Conference West Division, Clayton State (11-8, 6-4 PBC) used multiple extended runs to outdistance Georgia Southwestern (6-11, 4-6 PBC) by a 90-62 margin in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Wednesday, January 25.
 
Freshman guard Christoff Nairn (Boynton Beach, Fla.). who has come into his own recently, set another milestone in his young career with 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting. It was the fifth time in his last six games that he reached double-digits after not doing so in the first seven games of his career.
 
Graduate forward Jaumonee Byrd (Douglasville, Ga.) finished with 13 points and a team-high five rebounds while junior guard Dantez Bennamon (Goose Creek, S.C.) had 12 points, five assists and a pair of steals.
 
Redshirt-senior forward Alfonso Davis (Bronx, N.Y.) added 10 points, two steals, two assists and a pair of blocks and freshman guard Kyle Kincey (Tallahassee, Fla.), senior guard Maurice White (Baltimore, Md.) and redshirt-sophomore guard Marquise Clark (Miami, Fla.) each chipped in with eight points.
 
After tying at 3-3 a minute and a half into the game, Clayton State took full control of the game as they used a dominant 16-0 run to power out to a 19-3 lead by the 13:56 mark. An 8-0 run over the next 1:29, fueled by a pair of three-pointers, staunched that run and pulled GSW to within 19-11.
 
It wouldn't last long, however, as another massive run, this time 22-4, pushed the margin to 41-15 with 3:51 left in the half. It would get no better for the Hurricanes as Clayton State continued to shoot a sizzling .625 from the floor, including 7-of-12 from beyond the arc (.583) to take a 48-20 lead into the break. Overall, from when the teams were deadlocked at 3-3, they outscored GSW 45-17.
 
The Hurricanes would fare better at the start of the second half as they cut into the Lakers lead by scoring 20 of the first 33 points to make it 61-40 by the 11:11 mark. They would slip below the 20-point threshold on a pair of occasions in the next several minutes but would come no closer as Clayton State turned up the tempo and drove the final margin to 90-62 over the final 6:07.
 
Brandon Price scored a game-high tying 22 points to lead the Hurricanes while Tevin Wise finished with 14 points. Rakeem Hicks added seven points and eight boards in 32 minutes and Cameron Dozier chipped in with seven points, five caroms and three assists.
 
On the night, Clayton State shot a blistering .590 from the floor (36-of-61) and went a perfect 10-of-10 from the foul line. They also knocked down 8-of-15 three-point attempts for a mark of .533 from beyond the arc.
 
The Lakers now head to Young Harris (12-6, 6-3 PBC) on Saturday, January 25 in what will be a battle for first place in the West Division. That game time is set for approximately 3:30 p.m. following the conclusion of the women's contest.
 
NOTES
Nairn's 22 points surpass his previous career-high of 16 set against Flagler on January 16 … he is averaging 12.3 points in his last six games after moving into the starting lineup.