MORROW, Ga. – An early deficit was too much to overcome despite several runs as Clayton State (3-5, 0-2 PBC) fell to No. 7/8 USC Aiken (10-0, 4-0 CC) by a 99-76 score in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Monday, December 17.
 
Redshirt-senior forward JaCarl Owens (Orlando, Fla.) just missed a double-double with nine points and 11 boards to go with a pair of steals to lead the Lakers while redshirt-senior guard Aubrey McRae (Augusta, Ga.) finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals in 22 minutes.
 
They were joined by junior guard Kyle Kincey (Tallahassee, Fla.) with 10 points and six caroms and junior guard D'von Moore (Statesboro, Ga.) and freshman guard Arusha Hunter (Snellville, Ga.) with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Senior forward Jaylen Taylor (Hephzibah, Ga.) rounded things out with six points and nine boards.
 
USC Aiken would come out on fire as they jumped out to an 11-3 lead, including a thunderous dunk by Robert Hill, over the first 7:42 before Clayton State would respond. Over the next 4:19 they scored 12 of the next 18 points to stem the tide and cut the deficit to just 19-18 by the 7:59 mark. During that stretch McRae would score six of those 12 points.
 
The Pacers would answer right back as they continued the game of runs, this time posting a 12-4 stretch behind four different scorers. That offensive outburst extended their lead to a commanding 35-19 with 2:46 left in the half and would help fuel a 46-25 margin at the break.
 
A flurry of activity at the start of the second half, including a technical on the Aiken bench, would see the Lakers close to 46-33 behind an 8-0 run by the 18:56 mark. That lead would balloon back to over 20 at 56-35 with 15:26 left before Clayton State would cut it to 17 just seconds later.
 
That would be as close as they would get, however, as USC Aiken showed why they are a Top-10 team. Over the next 7:58 they would outscore the Lakers 30-12 to make it 86-51 with 6:56 on the clock. From there they would close out a commanding 99-76 victory.
 
Ty'lik Evans just missed a triple-double, finishing with 19 points, 10 boards and seven assists, to lead the Pacers while Faison Brock put up 23 points and yanked down nine rebounds with four assists and a pair of steals. Xzavier Barmore added 18 points, six caroms, three assists and three steals and Kyle Tackeberry added eight points and six boards.
 
The Lakers return to action on Wednesday, December 19 when they host Lander to close out the 2018 portion of the schedule. Game time is set for approximately 7:30 p.m. following the women's contest.
 

USC Aiken vs. Clayton State (12/17/18)