BRISTOL, Tenn. – Trailing by seven in the second half, Clayton State (2-3, 0-0 PBC) used a 19-4 run to upend previously unbeaten King (4-1, 0-0 CC) in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Saturday, November 23.
 
Senior guard Kyle Kincey (Tallahassee, Fla.) fueled that run with 11 of his 22 points to go with eight boards, five assists and a pair of steals while sophomore forward Ricardo Saams, Jr. (Miramar, Fla.) had a career-high 19 points with five caroms. Sophomore guard Arusha Hunter (Snellville, Ga.) came away with 13 points and seven rebounds and junior guard Byron Abrams (Conyers, Ga.) had 10 points.
 
Freshman forward Mehdi Pissis (Sartrouville, France) finished with eight points, six boards and three assists and redshirt-sophomore Bryan Hart (Hampton, Va.) had eight points, six caroms and four assists. Junior forward John Mason (Avon Park, Fla.) rounded things out with nine points.
 
Taking on a team averaging 96 points through their first four games it would not come as a surprise that King would bring the offense early on as they raced out to a 14-3 lead by the 15:56 mark. The Lakers would use a 12-4 burst to stem the tide and cut the deficit to 18-15 less than three minutes later and would use that run to springboard back into the game.
 
They would close to 20-19 and eventually take the lead at 23-22 by the 9:40 mark before the Tornado pulled back ahead by a 26-23 margin less than a minute later. In what quickly became a back-and-forth affair, the teams would deadlock twice and see the lead change hands two other times before KU took a 37-34 advantage at the 4:35 mark.
 
A 6-0 mini run then flipped the script once again as Clayton State pulled ahead 40-37 with 3:20 remaining in the half. King would knot it up at 42-42 little over a minute later but a bucket by Saams, Jr. gave the Lakers back the lead. As so many before had been, for both teams, it would be a brief one as Jordan Floyd knocked down a jumper and then a pair of free throws to put the Tornado up 46-44, a margin they would take to the break.
 
King would hold a lead as large as five points over the first nearly three minutes of the second half until the Lakers used a traditional three-point play from Mason to pull ahead 54-53 at the 17:04 mark. It would continue to be nip and tuck as the lead changed hands three times and the score knotted one more time before the Tornado used an 8-0 run behind five points from Floyd to take a 66-59 lead with 13:20 to go.
 
Trailing 68-61 little more than a minute later, Kincey ignited a massive 19-4 run as he scored 11 points to take Clayton State from down seven to up 80-72 at the 6:04 mark. A layup by Damion Ottman pumped the brakes on that run and began a 7-4 stretch for the Tornado that pulled them to within 84-81 with just under two minutes to play.
 
A pair of Abrams free throws and a layup by Saams then pushed the lead back to seven, 88-81, but King would answer with a lay in by James Brown to bring it back to a five point deficit. That would as close as they would get, however, as the Lakers closed the game with a 7-2 burst to lock down the 95-85 victory and knock the Tornado from the ranks of the unbeaten.
 
Floyd led King with a game-high 35 points along with four steals, four boards and three assists while Brown had 16 points. Ottman added 13 points and six caroms and Mike Salomon had eight points and eight rebounds. Josh Releford rounded out the top performers with 11 points, five boards and four assists.
 
The Lakers are now off until they begin their swing through the State of Florida after Thanksgiving. That trip will kick off at Lynn on Friday, November 29 at 7 p.m. and wrap up at No. 2/2 Nova Southeastern at 4 p.m. on Saturday, November 30.
 
NOTES
With the win, Clayton State improves to 3-1 all-time against the Tornado, all in the last four seasons.