MORROW, Ga. – In a game where defense was optional from the very beginning, and was essentially "first one to 100", Clayton State (1-3, 0-0 PBC) came up just short in the final seconds as Lenoir-Rhyne (4-1, 0-0 SAC) held on for a 103-99 victory in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Wednesday, November 20.
 
Freshman forward Mehdi Pissis (Sartrouville, France) set a new career-high for a second straight game, this time dropping 23 points on 12-of-16 shooting from the foul line while grabbing seven boards, dishing out four assists and nabbing a pair of steals. Redshirt-junior center Tionne Williams, Jr. (Phenix City, Ala.) put up 15 points in 16 minutes and senior guard Kyle Kincey (Tallahassee, Fla.) added 14 points.
 
Sophomore forward Ricardo Saams, Jr. (Miramar, Fla.) came away with 12 points and nine caroms and fellow sophomore forward Gabriel Joseph-Bryan (Bronx, N.Y.) chipped in with 10 points and five rebounds. Redshirt-sophomore guard Bryan Hart (Hampton, Va.) finished with seven points, nine boards, four assists and two steals, sophomore guard Arusha Hunter (Snellville, Ga.) had eight points and junior forward John Mason (Avon Park, Fla.) had eight rebounds.
 
With LRU holding a narrow 87-85 lead with 4:54 to play Clayton State would get a pair of free throws from Pissis to tie it up and would keep right on going with pair of layups from Joseph-Bryan for a 91-87 lead at the 3:52 mark.
 
Things would take a turn steeply in favor of the Bears from there however as consecutive jumpers by R.J. Gunn tied it and the 6-0 Davion Bradford took a pass in transition and proceeded to throw it down in traffic for a 93-91 lead with 2:24 left.
 
A missed three at the other end put Lenoir-Rhyne right back in transition and Gunn would hit again, this time in the paint, and make it a traditional three-point play for a 96-91 advantage to cap a 9-0 run with 1:55 on the clock. Far from done, a pair of free throws by Pissis quelled that run, but only briefly as a free throw and another jumper in the key by Gunn put the margin at 99-93 with 49 seconds left.
 
The Lakers would misfire on a long three-pointer but Pissis grabbed the rebound and fed Mason for a quick bucket at the 36 second mark. The defense would then step up, forcing a turnover and, after another missed shot, would haul in the rebound and capitalize. This time it would be Joseph-Bryan with the offensive grab and put back to cut it to 99-97 just seven seconds later.
 
Bradford would sink a pair of free throws as Clayton State looked to extend the game and it would pay off with a Kincey layup at the other end to get back to within a pair, 101-99, with 17 seconds on the clock. Stuck hoping for missed free throws, the Lakers were gifted not one but two on the other end to give them a chance to tie or take the lead.
 
It would not end well, however, as they raced up the court with 10 seconds left only to lose control of the ball and watch as it went the other way for a game capping dunk by Bradford to seal the 103-99 victory.
 
The first half would see a back-and-forth affair as well as the clubs deadlocked four times and saw the lead change hands five times before knotting at 21-21 at the 10:26 mark. A traditional three-point play, followed by a more conventional three-pointer, both by Darius Simmons then gave the Bears a 27-21 advantage two minutes later.
 
Clayton State would pull back to within four at 31-27 but a three by Tyson McClain but it back at seven before they battled back to 34-30 behind three straight Pissis free throws. It would continue to be a torrid affair as LRU made it 46-38 at the 1:57 mark and the Lakers answered with commanding 9-0 run to retake the lead at 47-46 with 19 seconds left. A late foul would then allow the Bears to hit a pair of free throws and head to the break up 48-47.
 
The second half would not see the pace slow down at all as the teams would be separated by no more than four points through the first four minutes. Holding a narrow 59-58 advantage, Lenoir-Rhyne used a 7-2 run to extend to a 68-60 lead with 14:13 on the clock but could not shake Clayton State. They would put together an impressive 11-1 run that would flip the script and give them a 71-69 lead at 11:47.
 
It would be short lived, however, as the Bears tied it and then built a lead of 81-75 by the 8:18 mark. As had been the case all night the Lakers came charging back as they tied it on a dunk by Saams. The clubs would then deadlock twice more before LRU took their 87-85 lead and set the stage for a torrid finish.
 
Gunn was the story for Lenoir-Rhyne as he exploded for a game-high 36 points while McClain and Simmons each had 15 points. Mason Hawks nearly had a triple-double with 11 points, eight assists, six boards and a pair of steals and Bradford finished with eight points, eight caroms and six steals. Anthony Rice rounded things out with nine points.
 
The Lakers begin a four game road trip that takes them to King in non-conference action on Saturday, November 23. That game is set for 4 p.m. in Bristol, Tennessee.
 
NOTES
The loss is the first in four meetings against Lenoir-Rhyne.

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