YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – Sophomore forward Ricardo Saams, Jr. (Miramar, Fla.) had a career night but Clayton State (2-9, 0-4 PBC) could not overcome a 61-point second half as they dropped a 102-95 decision to Young Harris (3-9, 1-3 PBC) in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Wednesday, January 8.
 
Saams, Jr. dropped a career-best 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting, ripped down a career-high tying 11 boards and dished out a personal best five assists in 36 minutes of work to lead the Lakers. Senior guard Kyle Kincey (Tallahassee, Fla.) wasn't far behind with 20 points behind 3-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc to go with seven caroms
 
Redshirt-junior center Tionne Williams, Jr. (Phenix City, Ala.) finished with 12 points, five boards and a pair of blocks and sophomore guard Brian Sims, Jr. (Trussville, Ala.) and junior guard Byron Abrams (Conyers, Ga.) each added 11 points. Redshirt-sophomore Bryan Hart (Hampton, Va.) chipped in with seven points to round out the top performers.
 
In what is typically a high scoring, back-and-forth affair it would be Clayton State that showed the offensive prowess early on as they jumped out to a 17-7 lead over the first 4:35. In that time Abrams would drop an impressive 11 points to lead the Lakers.
 
YHC would respond with an 8-2 run behind four different scorers to get back into it at 19-15 eight minutes in only to see an 11-6 stretch make it 30-21 with 8:05 left in the half. In what quickly turned into a game of runs, the Mountain Lions answered back with nine of the next 11 points to cut it to 32-30 with 5:29 showing on the clock.
 
The game would remain tight as the clubs deadlocked at 36-36 by the 2:42 mark before a pair of Saams, Jr. buckets made it 40-36 with 1:20 left before the break. At that point Young Harris' Seth McCoy drained a three and Paul Miller drove to the basket to regain the lead at 41-40 a minute later. It would be short lived, however, as freshman guard Jordan Curtis (Bradenton, Fla.) knocked down a buzzer beater to give the Lakers back the lead, 42-41, at the half.
 
After seeing the Mountain Lions tie things up at in the opening seconds of the second half Clayton State would score 13 of the next 21 points to take a 55-50 lead by the 15:40 mark before seeing that margin narrowed to 59-55 just shy of two minutes later. Over a span of 7:39 the momentum would shift fully in Young Harris' direction as they put together a dominating 27-12 run fueled by nine points each from McCoy and Brian Harper. That stretch would take them from down five to holding an 82-71 lead with 6:15 on the clock.
 
YHC would maintain at least an eight point lead until the Lakers showed some late life with just over two minutes to go. At that point they would close to within six, 91-85, before eventually getting the margin to 98-95 with 20 seconds to go. The Mountain Lions would then make all four of their free throws down the stretch and turn away three Clayton State scoring attempts to secure the 102-95 decision.
 
Harper erupted for 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting and dished out 11 assists to go with six steals in a full 40 minutes of work to lead Young Harris while McCoy dropped 19 points. Jonathan King came away with 14 points and eight boards and Ryle Owens had 14 points, six caroms and three assists in 24 minutes. Jacorie Archie just missed a double-double with 11 points and seven rebounds and Miller rounded things out with 10 points.
 
The Lakers are back in action on Saturday, January 11 as they host USC Aiken. Game time is set for approximately 3:30 p.m. following the women's contest at The Loch.