AMERICUS, Ga. – A career night from junior guard Kyle Kincey (Tallahassee, Fla.) nearly helped Clayton State (9-18, 6-15 PBC) overcome an 18 point second half deficit before falling 78-68 at Georgia Southwestern (5-22, 3-18 PBC) in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Wednesday, February 27.
 
Kincey exploded for 32 points on 11-of-19 shooting, shattering his previous career-best of 23 points against UNC Pembroke on January 26 of this year, while adding five rebounds, a pair of assists and a block. The effort also marked career-highs in makes and attempts.
 
Senior forward Jaylen Taylor (Hephzibah, Ga.) just missed a double-double as he finished with nine points and an impressive 13 rebounds in 33 minutes while senior guard Justin Tuckson (Stafford, Va.) added 10 points. Redshirt-senior guard Aubrey McRae (Augusta, Ga.) and redshirt-senior forward JaCarl Owens (Orlando, Fla.) chipped in with nine and eight points, respectively.
 
Facing a team with nothing to play for can be one of the most dangerous things late in the season and that was certainly the case as the Hurricanes came out and played like their namesake, blowing out to a 36-16 lead by the 6:51 mark.
 
Clayton State would shake off their early doldrums with an 8-0 run, fueled by six straight points from Kincey, to snap that streak and pull to within 36-24 with 3:50 left in the half. That would be a margin they would hit on two more occasions before pulling to within 40-30 with a minute and a half on the clock. From there the clubs would head to the break with another 12 point margin following a GSW bucket.
 
Things would not trend in the Lakers direction over the first minute and a half of the second half as the Hurricanes erupted for the first eight points and a 48-30 lead. After that initial surge the tide would turn with a 21-10 run that closed the gap to 58-51 with just under 10 minutes to play.
 
Three straight buckets by the Hurricanes then stretched the lead back to double-digits at 64-53 but Clayton State would not go away, once again narrowing it to a seven point spread with 5:59 on the clock.
 
GSW then answered with a 9-4 run to expand to a 73-61 margin but the Lakers would have one more good run in them as five points from Kincey keyed a 7-0 stretch to cut it to five with just over a minute and a half left. That would be as close as they would get, however, as the Hurricanes salted away the 10 point victory with the final five points down the stretch.
 
Devin Watson powered Georgia Southwestern with a team-high 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting along with five rebounds while R.J. Sessions had 17 points, six assists and three caroms. Jamari Dean ripped down 10 boards to go with six points and four blocks and Quenten Taylor finished with 13 points, five rebounds and five assists. Grant Howard rounded things out with seven points and four boards.
 
The Lakers will close out the 2018-19 campaign on Saturday, March 2 when they host rival Columbus State. Game time is set for approximately 3:30 p.m. at The Loch with Senior Day festivities preceding the contest.
 
NOTES
With the loss, Clayton State has been eliminated from contention for a spot in the 2019 Peach Belt Conference Tournament.