AMERICUS, Ga. – A late first half run and sustained offense in the second half was too much for Clayton State (2-11, 0-6 PBC) to overcome as they dropped a 98-81 decision at Georgia Southwestern (7-5, 2-4 PBC) in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Wednesday, January 15.
 
Senior guard Kyle Kincey (Tallahassee, Fla.) led the Lakers with 19 points and was joined by redshirt-junior center Tionne Williams, Jr. (Phenix City, Ala.) with 17 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore forward Ricardo Saams, Jr. (Miramar, Fla.) came away with 11 points and six boards and junior guard Byron Abrams (Conyers, Ga.) and redshirt-sophomore Bryan Hart (Hampton, Va.) had 14 and 13 points, respectively.
 
The Hurricanes jumped out to an early 7-2 lead before a 7-0 burst, all by Kincey, knotted things up less than four minutes in. The Lakers would find themselves trailing 19-13 behind a 10-4 run that capped at the 12:34 mark and gave them the opportunity to narrow that gap.
 
They would battle all the way back to within 23-22 with a 9-4 stretch of their own only to see GSW balloon that margin to 37-26 with 4:56 left in the half. The latter burst would be fueled by a pair of threes and eight points from Kahlon Whitley.
 
After cutting that margin to six, 39-33, with just over three minutes on the clock Clayton State would fall victim to an 11-4 run that saw the Hurricanes knock down consecutive threes and cap the half with back-to-back dunks for a 50-37 lead at the break.
 
That would be a trend that would continue into the second half as the Hurricanes would grow their lead to 70-55 with 11:48 remaining. At that point the Lakers would mount a 12-4 run behind seven points and back-to-back triples from Abrams to slice it to 74-67 by the 9:26 mark.
 
They would stay within 10 points of GSW until the margin spread to 85-72 with 6:29 to play. From there the Hurricanes would go on to salt way the 17 point victory.
 
Jamari Dean erupted for 17 points, 13 boards and four assists to power the Hurricanes while Jalen Cameron finished with 18 points and eight caroms. Soloman Thomas wasn't far off with 18 points of his own on 7-of-11 shooting and added five assists for good measure. Abdul Dial came away with 17 points and five assists and Whitley finished with 14 points and five assists.
 
The Lakers return to action on Saturday, January 18 when they travel to Francis Marion. Game time is set for approximately 3:30 p.m. following the women's game in Florence, South Carolina.