MORROW, Ga. – Junior forward Jaylen Taylor (Hephzibah, Ga.) set career-highs in points and rebounds as Clayton State (16-5, 14-3 PBC) won its seventh straight, taking down Flagler (7-14, 4-13 PBC) by a 94-74 score in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Saturday, February 10.
 
Taylor scored game-highs of 29 points and 15 boards, six offensive, to go along with two steals and three blocks while junior guard Justin Tuckson (Stafford, Va.) and redshirt-junior guard Aubrey McRae (Augusta, Ga.) combined for seven threes and scored 15 and 13 points, respectively.
 
While not the scoring force he's been over the previous five games, senior guard Nathan Powell (Orlando, Fla.) delivered a strong all-around effort with nine points, eight caroms, six assists and a pair of steals. He was joined by redshirt-junior forward JaCarl Owens (Orlando, Fla.) with six points, seven rebounds and two assists and sophomore guard Kyle Kincey (Tallahassee, Fla.) with eight points and four assists.
 
In what would be a closer game than it looked on paper, neither team would hold more than a four point advantage over the first 5:12 as the Saints took a narrow 11-10 lead. A four-point play by McRae, directly followed by a triple from Tuckson, then catapulted Clayton State ahead 17-11 with 13:41 on the clock.
 
Flagler would rally to tie it at 22-22 behind an 11-5 burst four minutes later and ignite a series of two ties and seven lead changes. The last of those saw the Lakers take a 40-31 advantage behind a 10-0 run that culminated at the 2:57 mark. From there, the Saints rallied to cut the deficit to 45-41 at the break.
 
An offensive outburst to start the second half took FC from down four to up by that margin, 50-46, with 17:32 on the clock and the teams would stay within no more than four points of each other until the 8:52 mark. At that point, Clayton State used a 13-3 run to go from up just 70-66 to stretch to a commanding 83-69 advantage with 4:19 to play.
 
That would be all the Lakers would need as they coasted from there and closed out the 94-74 victory. The win is their seventh consecutive and most since the 2008-09 season. It also equals the 16 wins by last year's PBC Regular Season Championship team.
 
Damerit Brown fueled the Flagler effort with 23 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals while Vaughn McCall finished with 15 points. Cortlin Davis added 12 points, six caroms and four assists and Chris Williams had 11 points to round out the top performers.
 
The Lakers continue their season-high tying three-game road trip as they face Augusta on Monday, February 12. Game time is set for approximately 7:30 p.m. following the women's game against the Jaguars in Augusta, Georgia.
 
NOTES
Clayton State remains in lockstep with UNC Pembroke, which won today 70-61 over Young Harris … the Lakers are a game back of the Braves for first place … Taylor eclipsed his career-high of 24 points, set against USC Aiken (1/13/18), and 14 rebounds, which he accomplished twice, most recently vs. North Georgia (1/29/18) … his two steals also equaled a career-best.