NEED TO KNOW:
Score: Clayton State 71 – No. 17 Lincoln Memorial 89
Records: Lakers (0-1, 0-0 PBC) – Railsplitters (1-0, 0-0 SAC)
All-Time Series: Lincoln Memorial leads 4-0
 
MORROW, Ga. – Despite a pair of 20-point scorers, the Clayton State men's basketball team fell 89-71 to No. 17 Lincoln Memorial Friday night in the opening day of the PBC / SAC Conference Challenge.
 
Playing in front of a packed crowd, the Lakers played hard for 40 minutes and led by one midway through the second half.
 
Trailing by 11 after a LMU layup in the first 18 seconds of the second half, the Lakers chipped away and kept the deficit in single digits until back-to-back 3-pointers by Ricardo Lynch gave Clayton State a 65-64 lead with 9:30 left in the game.
 
LMU then knocked its own 3-pointer in to quiet the crowd and started a 24-6 run to close the game. The Lakers were held scoreless for the final 3:22.
 
Jalen Shaw led all scorers with 25 points and had five steals, two assists and two boards while Lynch added 24, seven rebounds and two blocks. No other Laker had more than seven points.
 
The Lakers jumped out to an early 8-2 lead and led by as much as seven at the 14:25 mark in the first half.
 
LMU used a 10-0 run to take the lead, but five straight points by Wes Williams put the Lakers back in front 21-19 at 10:21. The Railsplitters quickly grabbed the lead back and led by 14 with just over five minutes to play in the opening half.
 
The Lakers would battle back and trailed by nine at halftime.
 

Up Next:
- Clayton State returns to The Loch on Saturday for a 4 p.m. meeting against Tusculum.  


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