MORROW, Ga. – Clayton State (4-5, 1-2 PBC) survived a late second half rally and outlasted a game Lander (2-8, 1-3 CC) squad by a 72-68 score in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Wednesday, December 19.
 
Redshirt-senior forward JaCarl Owens (Orlando, Fla.) put up 12 points, yanked down eight boards and dished out a career-high five assists to pace the Lakers while junior guard Kyle Kincey (Tallahassee, Fla.) finished with 15 points, a career-best eight rebounds and three assists.
 
Redshirt-senior guard Aubrey McRae (Augusta, Ga.) came away with 11 points, seven caroms and three assists and senior forward Jaylen Taylor (Hephzibah, Ga.) notched 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Freshman forward Gabriel Joseph-Bryan (Bronx, N.Y.) rounded things out with eight rebounds in 12 minutes.
 
Clayton State jumped out to an early 11-6 lead over the first 4:39 before the Bearcats responded with a 9-3 run that gave them a 15-14 advantage by the 11:56 mark. The game of runs would continue as the Lakers answered with an 11-5 burst to retake the lead at 25-20 but back-to-back dunks by Lander then fueled a 6-0 rally that flipped the script and put them up 26-25 with 6:12 left in the half.
 
Over the next 2:25 Clayton State then exploded for a 12-2 run behind five points from Owens that gave them a 37-28 lead at the 3:47 mark. From there they would power through to the break holding a 40-30 advantage before picking up right where they left off at the start of the second half.
 
They would stretch to a 12 point margin early on before settling at 51-40 with six and a half minutes gone by in the frame. Lander would not go away, however, as they responded with a 12-2 burst of their own, this one fueled by six points from Jordan Dingle.
 
That burst put them right back in the game at 53-52 with 8:22 to play and they would trail by no more than six points before closing the gap to 65-63 when Rahu Purdie nailed a three from the corner with 2:05 on the clock. The Lakers response, however, was loud and forceful as Taylor drove the baseline, picked up an on point pass and lowered the boom with a thunderous two handed dunk just seconds later.
 
Lander chipped away at that deficit with a pair of free throws before Taylor made 1-of-2 at the line to put it back at a three point margin. It would continue to be nip-and-tuck as Purdie converted a pair of free throws to slice it one, 68-67, with 17 seconds to play but Kincey would match that at the other end.
 
A Sidney Robinson free throw then made it 70-68 with 11 seconds left but that would be the last of the Bearcats scoring as junior guard Christoff Nairn (West Palm Beach, Fla.) salted away the 72-68 victory with a pair at the line himself in the closing seconds.
 
Marquel Wiggins led five Lander players in double-figures with 15 points to go with eight boards, five offensive, while Deshundre Rucker finished with 13 points, seven caroms, four assists and a pair of steals. Dingle added 10 points and seven rebounds and Purdie and Robinson added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
 
The Lakers have now closed out the 2018 calendar year and return to action in 2019 when they travel to Augusta on January 5. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m. at Christenberry Fieldhouse.