KENNESAW, Ga. – In a game that came down to the final seconds, Clayton State (0-0, 0-0 PBC) gave Division I Kennesaw State (0-0, 0-0 ASUN) all they could handle the whole way in an NCAA men's basketball exhibition on Thursday, November 1.
 
Redshirt-senior guard Aubrey McRae (Augusta, Ga.) lit it up for 22 points while redshirt-senior forward JaCarl Owens (Orlando, Fla.) finished with 17 points and nine boards. Senior forward Jaylen Taylor (Hephzibah, Ga.) added 12 points, six caroms and three steals and junior guard Christoff Nairn (West Palm Beach, Fla.) chipped in with 14 points. Senior guard Justin Tuckson (Stafford, Va.) rounded things out with nine points and three assists.
 
The Lakers would jump out to an early 5-1 lead, highlighted by a thunderous dunk by Taylor, before KSU put together a 10-2 rally to pull ahead 11-7 with 13:23 on the clock. The clubs would then deadlock at 12-12 two minutes later but a 12-4 run by the Owls made it 26-14 at the 6:08 mark.
 
Undaunted, Clayton State would answer back with 11 straight points behind six points from Owens and five from Nairn to cut the deficit to one at 26-25 with 2:41 remaining in the half. KSU would score six of the next 10 points to head to the break with a narrow 32-29 advantage.
 
With the score at 36-31 just over a minute into the second half the Lakers would use an 11-4 run to pull back ahead 42-40 by the 16:13 mark. It would continue to go back-and-forth as KSU claimed a 46-42 lead and Clayton State rallied for a 52-48 advantage with 12:31 left. A quick 7-0 run by the Owls, fueled by five points from Tyler Hooker, then made it 55-52 at the 11:10 mark.
 
Kennesaw would hold on to that lead over the next two minutes before the Lakers put together a 10-2 run to flip the script and vault back ahead, 66-61, with 7:06 to play. Little more than a minute later the Owls had sliced it to a one point game at 67-66 only to see Taylor drop a layup and Tuckson nail a three as part of a 5-2 burst that pushed the margin to 72-68 at 4:32.
 
Four free throws, two each by Hooker and Isaac Mbuyamba, then knotted it up with under four minutes to play but Clayton State answered with a 5-0 run capped by a McRae triple. That rally made it 77-72 but would be nearly all they would get.
 
Kennesaw State responded with a 7-1 rally, capped by a three from Hooker, to take a 79-78 lead with 23 seconds to play. Following a timeout eight seconds later, the Lakers drove to the hole but a turnover turned into a fastbreak dunk to cap an 81-79 comeback victory for the Owls.
 
Hooker exploded for 36 points on 13-of-17 shooting from the foul line along with six boards, three steals and a pair of assists to pace KSU. C.J. Washington finished with 17 points and three assists and Kosta Jankovic had 13 points. Mbuyamba rounded things out with a team-high seven boards.
 
The Lakers tip-off the season on Friday, November 9 when they head to Aiken, South Carolina for the SAC/PBC Challenge. There they'll face Lincoln Memorial on the opening day at 7:30 p.m. and Tusculum at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 10.