Clayton State University Athletics

HICKORY, N.C. – It would take a massive second half run and a last second floater as Clayton State (3-3, 0-1 PBC) picked up an impressive and hard fought 75-74 victory at Lenoir-Rhyne (8-2, 2-1 SAC) in an NCAA Division II men's basketball matinee on Wednesday, December 12.
 
Senior forward Jaylen Taylor (Hephzibah, Ga.) led the way with 17 points and eight boards while junior guard Kyle Kincey (Tallahassee, Fla.) produced 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting and three assists, two steals, a pair of blocks and two boards in 31 minutes.
 
Redshirt-senior forward JaCarl Owens (Orlando, Fla.) just missed a double-double with 11 points and eight caroms, along with three assists, and redshirt-senior guard Aubrey McRae (Augusta, Ga.) had 10 points, four assists and three rebounds. Senior guard Justin Tuckson (Stafford, Va.) rounded things out with 11 points, behind three triples, along with three assists and as many boards.
 
Right from the very beginning it would be a back-and-forth affair as the clubs saw the lead change hands six times and deadlocked seven more over the first nearly 18 minutes, the last coming at 25-25. From there, three straight layups by LRU's Cory Thomas gave them a six point advantage before a triple by Kincey at the buzzer made it a 31-28 margin at the break.
 
That lead would grow to a nine point spread, 38-29, as R.J. Gunn had a hand in every bucket of a 7-0 run, scoring five points himself, over the first 1:14 of the second half. That, however, would have nothing on the Lakers.
 
Over the next 3:42, three different players scored four points and fueled a commanding 15-0 run that took them from down nine to up 44-38 by the 15:14 mark. Consecutive baskets by Thomas cut it back to two but that would only briefly interrupt the run. Tuckson then proceeded to score eight points, including the first five, as part of a 15-2 explosion that made for an overall run of 30-6 and a 59-44 lead with just over 10 minutes to play.
 
After taking it on the chin for the previous 8:42, the Bears answered with a 12-0 burst over the next 2:07 to draw to within just three points, 59-56, with 7:57 to play. Clayton State would then stem the tide and rebuild their lead to a seven point difference on four occasions, the last coming at 70-63 with 2:05 on the clock. The game would be far from over.
 
LRU would claw their way to within one point at 71-70 as they scored seven of the next eight points to pull themselves back into the game with 43 seconds to play. Junior guard Christoff Nairn (West Palm Beach, Fla.) then drove to the hole to make it a three point game but four straight free throws, the last two by Djibril Diallo with nine seconds left, gave the Bears their first lead, 74-73, since the 18:46 mark of the second half.
 
Trailing now with just seconds to go, the Lakers wound the clock down to play for the final shot. The ball ended up in the hands of Owens who then quickly found Kincey. The 6-4 guard then elevated and lofted a floater over the defense – a prayer that would be answered as it dropped through the net with three tenths of a second left to secure the incredible 75-74 victory.
 
Gunn led the Bears with a game-high 20 points while Thomas was right behind him with 19 points and a team-high eight rebounds in 25 minutes. Diallo finished with 16 points and seven caroms and Jonathan Jean dished out a game-high seven assists to go with five points. Deontae Weaver pulled down seven boards to round out LRU's top performers.
 
"Huge road, team win," said head coach Jimmy Link. "The bench gave our guys some serious minutes and we really sustained the run against a very good and well coached team."
 
After being road warriors for the first month of the season, the Lakers will finally return to The Loch for their home opener on Friday, December 14. That night they will take on King at 7 p.m. in a meeting of two teams that reached last year's NCAA Division II Tournament.
 
NOTES
With the win, Clayton State is now 3-0 all-time against LRU … it is the first meeting in more than a decade and the first in Hickory … the last time the clubs met the Lakers notched an 83-69 overtime victory in the 2008 NCAA Division II Tournament on March 16 of that year.