MORROW, Ga. – Sophomore forward Ricardo Saams, Jr. (Miramar, Fla.) delivered a double-double and a pair of dunks as Clayton State (3-13, 1-8 PBC) came up just short in a 77-72 thriller against rival Columbus State (11-6, 6-3 PBC) in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Wednesday, January 22.
 
Saams, Jr. finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds in 40 minutes of action to lead the Lakers while senior guard Kyle Kincey (Tallahassee, Fla.) had 15 points, five assists and five caroms.
 
Junior guard Byron Abrams (Conyers, Ga.) finished with 12 points to round out the double-digit scorers and redshirt-junior center Tionne Williams, Jr. (Phenix City, Ala.) had seven points and five boards. Sophomore forward Gabriel Joseph-Bryan (Bronx, N.Y.) had four points and seven rebounds to go with a big dunk late.
 
The Cougars raced out to a 9-2 lead over the first 3:23 behind a monster dunk from Cam Paulding before Clayton State pulled to within 13-9 by the 14:42 mark. Over the next 2:19 the Lakers would get five points from Abrams to power a 10-2 burst that took them from down four to up by that margin, 19-15.
 
With the score at 21-19 with 10:45 on the clock, Columbus would come roaring back to life as they put together an 18-5 run as Hunter Preston dropped eight points and both Landrius Horton and Jalen Thomas had five. That outburst put them ahead 37-26 with 3:28 left in the half. From there they would go on to close out the half with a 47-37 lead.
 
Things would change dramatically over the first 3:23 of the second half as Saams, Jr. helped fuel a 10-0 run with six points, including a dunk, to pull to even at 47-47. Columbus would respond with a 6-1 mini run before the Lakers produced a 10-2 run of their own to pull ahead 58-55 with 10:44 showing on the clock.
 
The Cougars would battle back to tie it at 60-60 with 6:08 remaining before a three by Hunter put Clayton State up by that margin a little over 30 seconds later. Following a bucket by Columbus that drew them to within one the teams would see the lead change hands on four straight possessions, ending up with the Lakers up 68-66 at the three minute mark.
 
Preston cut that margin in half at the foul line and Bryant Givens followed with a layup to put the Cougars back up 69-68 with 2:13 left. At the other end Kincey drove to the hole on the left side only to see his shot sail to the right - were Joseph-Bryan was waiting to grab it and slam it down to put Clayton State back up, 70-69, with 1:41 remaining.
 
That would be their last lead, however, as Anthony Moore put home a layup to retake the lead and Columbus State went 6-of-6 from the foul line to close out the 77-72 victory.
 
Preston erupted for a game-high 25 points to go with nine boards to lead the Cougars while Horton added 17 points and three steals. Givens posted a solid all-around game with 10 points, six assists and four caroms and Moore finished with eight points and 10 rebounds to round out the top performers.
 
The Lakers are back on the road on Saturday, January 25 when they travel to North Georgia to take on the Nighthawks. Game time is set for approximately 3:30 p.m. in Dahlonega, Georgia.
 
FULL GAME VIDEO

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