NEED TO KNOW:
Score: North Georgia 82 – Clayton State 67
Records: Lakers (0-6, 0-6 PBC) – Night Hawks (2-6, 2-5 PBC)
Series History: North Georgia leads 23-21
 
MORROW, Ga. – Playing with just seven available players, the Clayton State men's basketball team dropped a home Peach Belt Conference matchup to North Georgia, 82-67, on Wednesday night.
 
Wednesday's game marked the first contest the men's basketball team played in 21 days. During that span, five games were postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.
 
North Georgia (2-6, 2-5 PBC) jumped out to an early 7-0 lead before a Stef Korfas 3-pointer put the Lakers (0-6, 0-6 PBC) on the board.
 
Clayton State would hit another three, this time by Justin Figueroa, and trailed 9-6 at the 14:18 mark. The Lakers' first 10 points were scored by four different players. North Georgia maintained the lead throughout the first half and never trailed.
 
The Lakers tied the game 22-22 and 24-24 but could never take control. North Georgia would close the half with a 12-3 run that included a buzzer-beating three and led 36-27 at halftime.
 
Figueroa had a team-high 22 points and added five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
 
Each team would come alive on offense in the second half. UNG extended its lead to 12 at the 16:56 mark and never led by less than eight until a Jordan Walker jumper pulled the Lakers within seven with 7:55 left tp play.
 
After shooting 4-of-10 from downtown in the first half, UNG went 7-of-9 in the second. The Lakers shot 3-of-13 from behind the arc in the first, but shot 7-of-13 in the second.
 
Micah McAllister would knock down a 3-pointer before Figueroa added an and-1 to cut the deficit to three with 5:52 remaining in the game.
 
UNG then sealed the game with an 11-0 to pull ahead 72-58. The Night Hawks would keep a double-digit lead until the final horn.
 
Walker added 17 points, eight rebounds and two steals while Korfas chipped in 15 points, four boards and two assists.


COMING UP:
- Clayton State is set to host Columbus State on Saturday. Gametime is set for 3:30 p.m.
- The Lakers are then scheduled to travel to Georgia Southwestern (Feb. 17) and Georgia College (Feb. 20).

TURNING POINT:
- After an and-1 by Figueroa that cut the lead to three with 5:52 remaining, North Georgia used an 11-0 run to put the game out of reach.
 
NEWS AND NOTES:
- Neither team called a timeout during the entire game.
- The Night Hawks had 40 points in the paint.
 
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