Morrow, GA--- The Clayton State Men's Basketball Team opened the Clayton State Classic at home as they welcomed the West Florida Argonauts to The Loch Friday night. The Argonauts controlled the game and defeated the Lakers 101-71.
 
From the tip off, the energy was high from both teams but it was the hot shooting from the Argonauts that caused a big lead to occur early. The Lakers did not allow that to stop them from fighting as they were able to get into the paint on offense and capitalize off defensive rebounds. Andre Young led the Lakers in the first half in shooting going 5-9 from the field with 2 of those shots coming from the 3-point line. JoJo Bell, Dezmond Perkins, and Jeremiah Barze each saw 2 field goals go in. The Lakers continued to play hard but as the first half concluded it was the Argonauts that went into halftime with a 22 point lead.

Halftime: West Florida 57, Clayton State 35

At the start of the second half, the Argonauts continued their hot shooting. Although the lead continued to remain large, the Lakers never gave up. DJ Wright saw 3 field goals go in with one of them coming from the 3-point line. Tahai Morgan was aggressive in the paint grabbing 4 total rebounds. The effort was there from both teams but in the end it was the Argonauts that pulled away with the win with a final score of 101-71.

Final Score: West Florida 101, Clayton State 71

Quick Hits:

• Andre Young led the Lakers with 16 points.
• Also in double digits scoring was Joe Thomas with 10 points.
• Dezmond Perkins, and Tahai Morgan both led the Lakers with 4 total rebounds.
• The Lakers had 20 total rebounds, and 11 total steals.

Whats Next?
The Lakers (0-3) play their second game on 11/22/2025 in the Clayton State Classic vs. Catawba College. Tip off is at 3:30pm.
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