COLUMBUS, Ga. – After waiting 15 years following their first Peach Belt Conference Regular Season Championship to win another, Clayton State (21-5, 19-3 PBC) made sure that wouldn't happen again as they won their second straight, knocking off rival Columbus State (9-16, 9-13 PBC) by an 84-67 score in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Saturday, February 24.
 
The title marks the first back-to-back regular season championships at the Division II level in program history and first of any kind since claiming the 1993-94 and 1994-95 Georgia Athletic Conference regular season titles. The latter both came as a member of the NAIA.
 
"Really proud of this group to go 19-3 in this conference," said head coach Jimmy Link. "It was a grueling road and home schedule through January and February. This group is special and I am so proud of what they have done so far this season".
 
Senior guard Nathan Powell (Orlando, Fla.) delivered another tremendous performance with 22 points, eight boards, five assists and a pair of steals while redshirt-junior forward JaCarl Owens (Orlando, Fla.) posted a career game. In 28 minutes he produced career-highs of 17 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Junior forward Jaylen Taylor (Hephzibah, Ga.) was not far behind with 17 points and eight boards of his own and redshirt-junior guard Aubrey McRae (Augusta, Ga.) came away with 10 points, three steals and a pair of assists. Senior guard Dantez Bennamon (Goose Creek, S.C.) rounded things out with 11 points.
 
Needing only to win to claim the No. 1 seed and a share of the Peach Belt Conference Regular Season Championship for a second consecutive season, Clayton State jumped out ahead early, taking an 11-2 lead less than four minutes in. The Cougars would then close the gap to three, 12-9, by the 14:24 mark before the Lakers regained control.
 
That would come in the form of a 16-5 run that extended their lead to 28-14 with 6:52 left in the half. Despite taking it on the chin Columbus State recovered to answer with a 15-9 stretch to head to the break with the score at 37-29.
 
It wouldn't take long for the effects of that surge to be washed away as the Lakers scored the first seven points over the first two minutes of the second half to push to a 44-29 advantage. That margin would continue to grow, eventually reaching 63-46 with 8:31 to play.
 
While the Cougars would not go away, narrowing the margin to 11 points, 78-67, with 1:30 left, they would not get the margin below double-digits. Down the stretch Clayton State would go 4-of-4 from the foul line and knock down a jumper to salt away the 84-67 victory and claim their second straight PBC Regular Season Championship.
 
Darius Joell led Columbus State with 19 points along with a pair of steals while JaCori Payne was not far behind with 18 points and four assists. Marcus Dixon just missed a double-double with eight points and nine boards and Vic Ellis chipped in with seven points and two steals.
 
The Lakers have secured the No. 1 overall seed for the second straight season and, in a twist of fate, will face No. 8 seed Columbus State in quarterfinal action. That game will be at The Loch at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 28. Should Clayton State win that game they will host the PBC Tournament Semifinals and Championship on March 3-4.
 
NOTES
With a win in quarterfinal play, the Lakers would face the winner of No. 4 seed Augusta and No. 5 seed USC Aiken … the consecutive games between Clayton State and Columbus State will be the first time series history.
 
Championship History
Clayton State has won five regular season championships with three of those being during Peach Belt Conference membership. They claimed those during the 2001-02 and 2016-17 campaigns in addition to this year's championship and collected their only PBC Tournament title in 2007-08. Their only other regular season titles came during the NAIA years as they earned back-to-back Georgia Athletic Conference championships in 1993-94 and 1994-95.
 
Conference Postseason History (1 Tournament, 5 Reg. Season)
2017-18 Peach Belt Conference Regular Season (21-5, 19-3 PBC)
2016-17 Peach Belt Conference West Division (16-13, 11-8 PBC)
*2008 Peach Belt Conference Tournament (19-15, 9-11 PBC)
2001-02 Peach Belt Conference Regular Season (19-9, 15-4 PBC)
1994-95 Georgia Athletic Conference Regular Season (21-13, 12-4 PBC)
1993-94 Georgia Athletic Conference Regular Season (25-7, 14-2 PBC)