MORROW, Ga. – A massive 46-19 run and six double-figure scorers gave Clayton State (0-0, 0-0 PBC) an impressive 106-78 victory over Carver (0-8) in an NCAA Division II men's basketball exhibition on Monday, November 13, 2017.
 
Senior forward Denzel Council (Macon, Ga.) led the Lakers with a team-high 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor and went 8-of-9 at the line, along with eight boards and four assists. He was joined by Aubrey McRae with 19 points behind 4-of-7 shooting from behind the arc and senior guard Nathan Powell (Orlando, Fla.) with six points, eight rebounds, nine assists and a pair of steals.
 
Redshirt-junior forward JaCarl Owens (Orlando, Fla.) finished with 13 points and nine boards and junior forward Jamil McKee (Greenville, Ga.), in his first action since the 2014-15 season, put up 12 points and ripped down seven boards. Fellow junior forward Jaylen Taylor (Hephzibah, Ga.) added 12 points and sophomore guard Christoff Nairn (West Palm Beach, Fla.) chipped in with 11 points and four assists.
 
The Cougars would take advantage of hot shooting over the first 5:27 as they knocked down three triples, including a pair by Saveyon Edwards, to take a 19-13 lead. That margin would grow to 34-27 with 6:29 left in the half before Clayton State got off the deck.
 
Over the next six minutes they would put together a 19-9 run behind seven points from McRae and six from Council to pull ahead 46-43 with 30 seconds left in the half. Following a bucket by Edwards, they would then take a one point margin into the break.
 
That would be the beginning of the end for Carver as that stretch ballooned into an overall run of 46-19 by the time the Lakers barreled out to a 74-53 advantage at the 11:03 mark of the second half.
 
The lead would dip below 20 points on several occasions but would stay there for good when Council delivered a layup to make it 84-63 with 6:07 to play. From there they would push on to the final 28-point margin of 106-78 to lock up the exhibition victory.
 
Chris Deny led Carver with a game-high 27 points along with six rebounds and Edwards added 16 points with a pair of steals. Former Laker Malique Gibbons finished with nine points, four rebounds and three steals and Ja'Myri Evans chipped in with nine points on 3-of-4 shooting to round out the top performers.
 
The Lakers kick off the season on Wednesday, November 15 when they travel to No. 2 Queens. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. in Charlotte, North Carolina.