MORROW, Ga. – Multiple second half runs were too much to overcome as Clayton State (8-16, 5-13 PBC) faced off with second place Augusta (19-5, 15-3 PBC) before falling 102-82 in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Monday, February 20.
 
Redshirt-senior guard Aubrey McRae (Augusta, Ga.) continued his torrid scoring spree as he finished with 22 points behind 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc while senior forward Jaylen Taylor (Hephzibah, Ga.) finished with 10 points, five boards and a pair of assists.
 
Junior guard Kyle Kincey (Tallahassee, Fla.) added nine points and four caroms and freshman forward Gabriel Joseph-Bryan (Bronx, N.Y.) had six points and five rebounds. Freshman guard Rodwens Albert (Boynton Beach, Fla.) and senior guard Justin Tuckson (Stafford, Va.) added eight and seven points, respectively.
 
The Jaguars would jump out to a quick 9-4 lead over the first two minutes before back-to-back buckets by Clayton State cut it to one. A 7-2 burst would then push Augusta's advantage to 16-10 before the Lakers answered with six of the next eight points.
 
An 11-2 offensive outburst would then make it 29-20, and following one more rally to cut it to 31-24, the Jaguars would use a pair of three-pointers to fuel a 9-1 run that made it 40-25 by the 4:51 mark.
 
It would continue to be a game of runs as Albert knocked down a three as part of an 8-2 stretch to narrow the gap to 42-33 with 2:52 left in the half. Augusta would then round out the frame with a 52-40 lead heading into the break.
 
That margin would expand to 61-46 by the 17:07 mark of the second half before a 10-3 run, fueled by four different scorers and a pair of three-pointers, cut it to 64-56 with just over 14 minutes to play. That would be as close as Clayton State would get however.
 
Over the next two and a half minutes the Jaguars rebuilt their lead to a 17 point margin at 77-60 before the Lakers got it back down to a 12 point deficit by the 9:06 mark. At that point Augusta used a 12-3 run to push to a 90-69 advantage and would not lead by any fewer than 17 the rest of the way as they closed out the 102-82 victory.
 
Deane Williams delivered a tremendous performance to lead the Jaguars with 31 points, 10 boards and three blocks, all while shooting 14-of-19 from the field. He was joined by Rafael Monteiro with 19 points and eight rebounds, including four offensive, and Aaron Byrd had 12 points and three steals. Tyree Myers chipped in with nine points and Miguel Arnold and Darren Lucas-White each had eight points.
 
The Lakers return to action on Wednesday, February 20 when they host North Georgia. Game time is set for approximately 7:30 p.m. following the women's game at The Loch.
 

Augusta vs. Clayton State (2/16/19)