MORROW, Ga. – Clayton State (2-1, 0-0 PBC) used a handful of strong runs and shot an impressive 25-of-31 from the foul line to run past King (2-3, 0-0 CC) 83-68 in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Saturday, November 25.
 
Junior forward Jamil McKee (Greenville, Ga.) delivered a "big man" double-double as he scored 16 points and yanked down 14 rebounds along with three assists. The rebound total would be one shy of tying his career-high of 15 set on November 19, 2014.
 
He was joined by junior guard Justin Tuckson (Stafford, Va.) and redshirt-junior guard Aubrey McRae (Augusta, Ga.) with 15 points apiece, with the former's being a career-best. Senior forward Denzel Council (Macon, Ga.) added 12 points, junior forward Jaylen Taylor (Hephzibah, Ga.) finished with nine points, seven boards and three assists and senior guard Dantez Bennamon (Goose Creek, S.C.) had nine points to round out the top performers.
 
The Tornado jumped out ahead early with a 16-9 advantage by the 12:33 mark before Clayton State responded with a 6-0 run, capped by a steal and fastbreak dunk from Council, to cut it to one at 11:10. King would then recover to score nine of the next 13 points to stretch back to a six point advantage, 25-19, just under two minutes later.
 
It would be a lead that would not last much longer as the Lakers erupted for a 17-3 run, fueled by an 8-of-9 performance at the foul line, that left them with a 36-28 lead at the 2:55 mark. KU would bounce back with back-to-back triples from Mike Salomon to cut it to two but would find themselves down 41-34 at the break as Bennamon scored the final five points of the half.
 
That mini 5-0 burst would grow into an impressive 19-7 run by the 15:05 mark of the second half and eventually reach a 16-point margin, 62-46, three minutes later. The Tornado would get it down to an 11-point margin with 8:15 on the clock but that would be as close as they would get.
 
Clayton State would stamp out any thoughts of a comeback over the next 3:19 as they used a 12-3 stretch to extend to a game-high 20-point lead at 79-59. They would then not allow King within more than the final margin of 15 points in closing out the commanding 83-68 victory.
 
Mack Owens led King with 12 points and eight rebounds while Salomon had 15 points on 4-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc. Je'Don Young added 11 points and a game-high four steals and Kalen Clifton chipped in with seven points and five boards.
 
The Lakers return home when they host Shaw on Wednesday, November 29. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at The Loch.
 
NOTES
Clayton State is now 2-0 against King all-time dating back to last year's 95-92 victory at The Loch … McKee nearly equaled his career-high of 15 rebounds set against Carver in 2014.