MORROW, Ga. – Clayton State (11-5, 9-3 PBC) used a massive run right from the tip-off and maintained a second half double-digit lead to rout rival Columbus State (6-10, 6-7 PBC) 95-76 in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Saturday, January 27.
 
Senior guard Nathan Powell (Orlando, Fla.) notched a double-double with 14 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, along with three assists, to lead the charge while redshirt-junior guard Aubrey McRae (Augusta, Ga.) knocked down another four three-pointers to finish with 19 points.
 
Junior guard Justin Tuckson (Stafford, Va.) added 11 points, four assists and a pair of steals and senior guard Dantez Bennamon (Goose Creek, S.C.) finished with 11 points, five boards and three assists in 28 minutes. Sophomore guard Kyle Kincey (Tallahassee, Fla.) came away with 15 points and junior forward Jaylen Taylor (Hephzibah, Ga.) had seven points and eight rebounds. Redshirt-junior forward JaCarl Owens (Orlando, Fla.) rounded things out with 10 points.
 
It was all Clayton State over the first 8:44 of the game as they raced out to a daunting 22-7 advantage before the Cougars cut it to a 10 point deficit, 22-12, by the 10:34 mark. It would be only temporary as the Lakers came right back with an 18-8 run, fueled by seven points from Kincey, to double them up at 40-20 with just over three minutes left in the half. From there they headed to the break with a 47-29 lead.
 
Despite a quick bucket to start the second half, it would get no better for Columbus State as the Lakers rained down three three-pointers as part of a 12-3 burst that pushed the lead to a game-high 25 point margin, 59-34, with 17:20 to play.
 
Trailing 63-40 nearly three minutes later, the Cougars used a flurry of buckets as part of a 10-2 run to claw to within 65-40 in a span of just three and a half minutes. They would eventually get it down to a 14 point margin on three occasions, the last of which came at 76-62 with 7:48 remaining.
 
That would be as close as they would get as Clayton State methodically built its lead back up to 22 points with a 92-70 spread with over a minute remaining before putting the finishing touches on the 95-76 victory.
 
Rudy Winters paced Columbus State with 13 points and nine boards while Chris Horton and Darius Joell finished with 15 and 12 points, respectively. John Lambert added 10 points and a game-high tying four assists and Marcus Dixon had seven points and nine rebounds to round out the top performers.
 
The Lakers are right back in action as they return to The Loch for a rescheduled game against North Georgia (8-10, 6-6 PBC) on Monday, January 29. Game time is set for approximately 7:30 p.m. following the women's game against the Nighthawks.
 
NOTES
With the victory, Clayton State has now won the last three meetings, since January 21, 2017, after dropping seven in a row from March 2, 2013 through February 24, 2016 … junior guard Obi Udezeh (Rosedale, N.Y.) scored the first points of his Laker career with a driving layup in the final seconds … Powell surpassed his previous career-high of 10 rebounds set at Columbus State on February 3, 2016 … McRae now has 44 threes on the season and is 14 threes away from cracking the single season Top-10 list … he currently sits just 29 treys away from breaking the single season mark of 72 set by Michael Sloan in 2006-07 … Clayton State played the game in front of a near sellout crowd of 1,476, their largest at home this season.