MORROW, Ga. – Senior guard Kyle Kincey (Tallahassee, Fla.) flirted with a triple-double and Clayton State (6-17, 4-12 PBC) held off a Francis Marion (4-19, 3-13 PBC) squad that was better than their record indicated as they posted a 102-98 victory in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Saturday, February 15.
 
Kincey would finish the day with 14 points, a career-high tying seven assists, personal best five steals and seven boards in 40 minutes of action while sophomore forward Ricardo Saams, Jr. (Miramar, Fla.) came away with 17 points and eight caroms.
 
Junior guard Byron Abrams (Conyers, Ga.) was a long range threat all game as he drilled five triples on his way to 20 points and three steals and redshirt-sophomore Bryan Hart (Hampton, Va.) and sophomore guard Arusha Hunter (Snellville, Ga.) each had 18 points.
 
The latter got there strictly from beyond the arc as he went 6-of-9 for career marks in both made and attempted threes and redshirt-junior center Tionne Williams, Jr. (Phenix City, Ala.) just missed a double-double with 10 points and seven rebounds. Four of the latter came off of the offensive glass.
 
Neither team would gain a firm foothold in the opening minutes as the clubs deadlocked at 7-7 before seeing four straight lead changes. The last of those would see Clayton State go from trailing 11-10 to up 18-11 behind an 8-0 run by the 14:30 mark.
 
The Patriots would not go away, however, as they responded by scoring 10 of the next 16 points to pull to within 24-21 with just over 12 minutes left in the half. It would continue to be back-and-forth as the Lakers answered with a 7-1 burst to push back to a nine point margin only to see it sliced to four twice before closing the opening stanza with a 48-42 lead.
 
It would continue much that way over the first 7:36 of the second half as the lead would fluctuate between that nine and four point range before FMU cut it to 61-58 with 13:24 remaining. As had been the case all game, Clayton State bounced right back, this time with 10 points from Hart as part of a 13-6 run that extended the lead to 74-64 with just over 10 minutes gone by.
 
Trailing 79-72 little more than two minutes later, the Patriots' Alex Cox ignited a 9-2 run with a three-pointer, the rest of which was fueled by six points from Keith Matthews, to come all the way back at 81-81. The clubs then traded the next two buckets before Williams, Jr. sunk a pair of free throws to kick off a 12-4 run for a 93-85 margin with 2:22 left.
 
Francis Marion had one more good run in them, however, as Ja'Lil Robinson scored six of their points in a 9-5 stretch that once again made it a four point deficit with 16 seconds showing. Trailing 100-94 with just 10 on the clock after a pair of Laker free throws, the Patriots made it interesting as they got a quick basket from Jaquez Smith and Winston Hill stole the inbounds pass and laid it in to claw back to within 100-98 before a pair of Hart free throws iced it at the other end.
 
FMU was not at a loss for top performances as Hill led the squad with 27 points, 15 rebounds and six assists in 38 minutes, including wrangling 12 of those boards from off the offensive glass.
 
Matthews exploded for 28 points and 14 caroms, five offensively, and Smith did it all with nine points, eight assists, 10 caroms and three steals. Trey Jones had a game befitting his name as he went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc on his way to 18 points and Cox added 10 points.
 
Following a stretch of seven of their past nine games coming at home since January 22, the Lakers will take on the role of road warriors with their next three coming on opposing turf. That stretch will begin at rival Columbus State on Wednesday, February 19 with game time slated for approximately 7:30 p.m. in Columbus, Georgia.
 
NOTES
Prior to the game head coach Jimmy Link was presented with a commemorative ball honoring his 150^th career victory … he achieved that milestone last time out with an 81-80 nail-biter over Georgia Southwestern on Wednesday, February 12.