Lucky 13! Second-ranked Clayton State rolls past
Francis Marion 78-50

MORROW, Ga. --- JANUARY 7, 2007 --- The Clayton State Laker men’s basketball team didn’t need a last-second miracle on Saturday against visiting Peach Belt Conference opponent Francis Marion. The Lakers took care of business early.

Spearheaded by four players scoring in double-figures, the second-ranked Lakers remained undefeated on the season with a convincing 78-50 victory over Francis Marion at the Athletics and Fitness Center. The Lakers ran their school-record winning streak 13 straight games to stand 13-0 overall. More importantly, Clayton State is 2-0 in the Peach Belt heading into Wednesday’s South Division showdown against in-state rival Armstrong Atlantic.

“This is an exciting team to watch,” said Clayton State head coach Gordon Gibbons. “The defense got us going today and we played extremely hard, especially in the second half.”

For the second straight game, the Lakers spotted the opponent an early lead as Francis Marion raced out to a 6-0 lead. But Clayton State countered with a 9-0 run and scored 30 of the game’s next 35 points, never looking back. The Lakers increased the lead to 30-11 thanks to a 15-0 run midway through the first half.

Michael Sloan drained two 3-point baskets early in the rally, and then inside baskets by both Aristide Sawadogo and John Beugnot increased the Laker lead to 19 points with 4:59 remaining. Clayton State’s largest lead of the first half was 26 points on two occasions, including Jeff Trotter’s lay-up with 48 seconds remaining to give the Lakers a 42-16 lead.

Todd McLaurin’s lay-up early in the second half increased the Clayton State lead to 31 points, 51-20 with 17:38 remaining. Francis Marion never got closer than 20 points for the remainder of the game.

Sloan paced the Lakers with 16 points on four 3-point baskets, while Brandon Kelley scored 12 points, McLaurin scored 11 points and Sawadogo added 10 points.  Beugnot paced Clayton State on the boards with 10 rebounds.

For Francis Marion (3-8, 0-2), Dominic Bishop scored 12 points.

Clayton State and Armstrong Atlantic due battle in the huge early season South Division showdown on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Athletics and Fitness Center.