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The victory improves Clayton State to 6-7 overall and 2-4 in the Peach Belt Conference. Clayton State overcame a 15-0 Georgia Southwestern run in the first half by playing some suffocating defense throughout the second half. The Lakers held Georgia Southwestern to only 28 percent shooting from the field in the second half, including only 17 percent from 3-point range. This after the Hurricanes shot 60 percent from 3-point range in the first half to lead 27-25 at halftime. Trailing by four points, 37-33 with 15 minutes remaining in the game, the Lakers’ defense clamped down, holding Georgia Southwestern to only two field goals for the remainder of the contest. Clayton State, meanwhile, out-scored the Hurricanes 29-11 down the stretch. The Lakers took the lead for good on 3-point basket by Ricky Garrett at the 13:43 mark, followed by consecutive jump shots by Bernard Fields and Will Lewis. Tracy Williams’ jump shot in the lane capped off an 11-0 Clayton State run to give the Lakers a 44-37 lead with 9:34 remaining. After Georgia Southwestern cut the deficit to four points, Clayton State responded with 14-3 run over a four-minute span. Brian Kelly started the surge with a 3-point play, followed by two straight lay-ups by Lewis and Jerome Boyd. Another 3-point play by Lewis gave Clayton State a 57-43 lead with 4:45 remaining. In the second half alone, Clayton State shot 58 percent from the field and 88 percent from the free throw line. Lewis and Kelly each paced Clayton State with 11 points, followed by Boyd and Michael Sloan with nine points each. Fields added five assists for the Lakers. For Georgia Southwestern (4-9, 1-5), Aaron Wyatt scored 21 points to lead all scorers. However, junior guard Anthony Sargent, who was ranked second in the Peach Belt Conference in scoring at 23 points a game coming into Wednesday night, was held to only nine points on 3-for-17 shooting from the field. Next up for Clayton State is a Peach Belt Conference road showdown at Lander on Saturday at 4 p.m. |
