MORROW, Ga. – Redshirt-senior forward JaCarl Owens (Orlando, Fla.) delivered a double-double and led four players in double-figure scoring as Clayton State (5-8, 2-5 PBC) raced past Georgia College (8-6, 3-5 PBC) for an 82-67 victory in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Wednesday, January 16.
 
Owens led the Lakers with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting and hauled in 10 boards while redshirt-senior guard Aubrey McRae (Augusta, Ga.) led all scorers with 20 points and added six caroms and a career-high tying four steals. Senior guard Justin Tuckson (Stafford, Va.) produced a solid all-around game with six points, seven rebounds and six assists.
 
Senior forward Jaylen Taylor (Hephzibah, Ga.) added 10 points and six rebounds and freshman forward Gabriel Joseph-Bryan (Bronx, N.Y.) notched a career-high 10 points with four rebounds. Junior guard Christoff Nairn (West Palm Beach, Fla.) and freshman guard Arusha Hunter (Snellville, Ga.) each chipped in with seven points to round out the top performers.
 
The Bobcats jumped out to an early 12-6 lead, bookended by a pair of Desmond Mitchell-LaFlam three-pointers, before Clayton State responded with a 12-4 burst of their own to pull ahead 18-16 by the 10:20 mark. That run would feature six straight points from McRae, including a capping three-pointer.
 
From there the clubs would see the lead change hands on four straight possessions before the Lakers used a 16-2 run to go from down 21-20 to up 36-23 with 2:46 left in the half. Powering that offensive outburst was Owens with seven points and McRae with another five. From there they would take a 40-29 lead into the break.
 
A free throw by Kohl Roberts made the deficit an even 10 at the start of the second half but things would not turn in their favor as Clayton State scored 10 of the next 13 points to extend to a 50-33 advantage by the 16:06 mark.
 
GC would eventually get it down to 11 points at 60-49 before three different players scored at least three points to fuel a decisive 14-4 stretch over the next six minutes. That rally put the Lakers up by their largest margin of the night at 74-53 with 5:22 to play and essentially signaled an end to the Bobcats comeback bid.
 
Despite that 21 point margin, Georgia College would make it interesting in the final minute. Trailing 80-61, Jordan Thomas drained back-to-back threes within four seconds of each other to close to within 80-67 but a pair of free throws by Tuckson wrapped up the 82-67 victory.
 
Thomas led the Bobcats with 19 points and seven boards while Mitchell-LaFlam finished with 14 points, seven caroms, three assists and a pair of steals. Isaac Thomas added 13 points, six boards and a pair of steals and Roberts just missed a double-double with eight points and eight rebounds.
 
The Lakers now hit the road for three games in short order as they head to No. 7 USC Aiken on Saturday, January 19. Slated for a 3:30 p.m. tip following the women's game, that contest kicks off three games in five days.
 

Georgia College vs. Clayton State (1/16/19)

 

Georgia College vs. Clayton State (1/16/19) - Postgame Interview

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