MORROW, Ga. – Clayton State (0-1, 0-0 PBC) battled No. 6/13 Lincoln Memorial (2-1, 0-0 SAC) into the second half before a dominant 20-2 run by one of the best teams in the country led to an 87-55 decision in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Friday, November 8.
 
Junior forward John Mason (Avon Park, Fla.) made a strong impression in his Laker debut as he finished with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting and hauled in six boards in 20 minutes of work. He was joined by sophomore forward Ricardo Saams, Jr. (Miramar, Fla.) with seven points and six caroms in just 15 minutes and sophomore guard Arusha Hunter (Snellville, Ga.) with seven points.
 
Senior guard Kyle Kincey (Tallahassee, Fla.) came away with six points, seven boards, three assists and a pair of steals and freshman forward Mehdi Pissis (Sartrouville, France) added five points, seven caroms, two blocks and three assists. Sophomore forward Gabriel Joseph-Bryan (Bronx, N.Y.) chipped in with five points and a career-high tying three blocks.
 
Mason would come out with a bucket and a three-pointer to stake Clayton State to an early 5-0 lead before the Railsplitters answered back with nine straight points for a 9-5 advantage at 13:21. The Lakers would respond with a burst of their own as they put together a 9-0, capped by a pair of three-pointers, to retake the lead at 14-11 with 10:19 left in the half.
 
LMU came right back as they scored 10 of the next 16 points for a 24-17 advantage at 5:57 but Clayton State would pull back to within four points three times, the last at 28-24 with just under three minutes left. From there the Railsplitters closed the half with six straight points to take a 34-24 lead into the break.
 
With the score at 34-28 a minute into the second half, the No. 6 ranked team in the country would flex their muscle and deliver what would end up being the knockout blow. Over a span of 8:15 they would produce a 20-2 run that took their lead from six points to an insurmountable 54-30 spread by the 11:45 mark.
 
That lead would eventually grow to a 34 point margin of 78-44 with 3:25 remaining in the game before Lincoln Memorial closed out the 87-55 victory minutes later.
 
Kamaran Calhoun led the Railsplitters with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go with four blocks and as many rebounds while Cameron Henry ripped down a double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds. Courvoisier McCauley had 13 points and Anthony Brown added 10 points and seven caroms in 27 minutes. Devin Whitfield finished with nine points and five assists and Jeremiah Keene rounded things out with eight points.
 
The Lakers are right back in action tomorrow, Saturday, November 9 when they take on Tusculum (1-0, 0-0 SAC), which dominated USC Aiken 93-63 in their opening game. Game time is set for 2 p.m. in Harrogate, Tennessee at Tex Turner Arena.
 
NOTES
The game marked a homecoming for redshirt-sophomore Bryan Hart (Hampton, Va.) and redshirt-junior center Tionne Williams, Jr. (Phenix City, Ala.), both of whom spent multiple years in the Lincoln Memorial program.