AIKEN, S.C. – Senior forward Denzel Council (Macon, Ga.) delivered his best game as a Laker, including a key three-pointer, as Clayton State (4-2, 2-0 PBC) pulled out a 67-64 victory over USC Aiken (4-2, 1-1 PBC) in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Saturday, December 16.
 
Council led the way with career-highs of 20 points and 11 rebounds in 33 minutes while junior forward Jaylen Taylor (Hephzibah, Ga.) continued the tear he's been on. In a career-high 29 minutes he registered 14 points and a career-best 13 boards, a whopping eight of which came off of the offensive glass.
 
Redshirt-junior guard Aubrey McRae (Augusta, Ga.) finished with 10 points, four rebounds and a pair of assists while junior guard Justin Tuckson (Stafford, Va.) added 10 points and three assists. Senior guard Nathan Powell (Orlando, Fla.) rounded things out with five points, four assists and four caroms.
 
The Pacers would take an early 6-5 lead by the 16:13 mark before Clayton State responded with a 9-0 run that gave them a 14-6 advantage less than three minutes later. From there, the margin would fluctuate between three and seven points before the Lakers pushed to a 31-21 advantage by the 4:23 mark. USCA would answer with a 9-2 run to close the half and cut the deficit to 33-30 at the break.
 
That would be a trend that would continue into the second half as USC Aiken came all the way back to take a 40-39 lead as they scored 10 of the first 16 points of the frame. Following a brief tie at 40-40, the Pacers retook the lead and pushed to a 50-44 margin with 10:47 on the clock.
 
Trailing 53-46, Clayton State would not go away as they put together an 11-4 run to knot things up at 57-57 with 3:41 to play. After a bucket by Henry Bolton III gave the Pacers back the lead, consecutive layups by Council and Taylor turned it around for a 61-59 Laker lead at the 1:29 mark.
 
Doniel Dean would make a pair of free throws nine seconds later to deadlock it at 61-61 but a 5-0 burst, capped by a three pointer by Council, gave Clayton State a 66-61 lead with 23 seconds left. A free throw with eight seconds on the clock and a layup by Bolton with just a second remaining then cut it to a two point margin. Following a foul, McRae would then make 1-of-2 at the line to ice the 67-64 victory.
 
Faison Brock notched a double-double of 11 points and 14 rebounds to lead USC Aiken while Robert Hill erupted for eight points, seven boards and an impressive seven blocks in just 23 minutes. Markus Terry finished with 14 points, Dean added 10 points and Bolton chipped in with nine points and three assists.
 
The Lakers are back in action on Tuesday, December 19 when they travel to Lander. Game time is set for approximately 7:30 p.m. following the women's contest.
 
NOTES
Council's previous Laker best marks were 18 points twice this season and six rebounds against Flagler on December 2 … Taylor surpassed his career-best 11 boards that was set against Shaw on November 29 of this year.