GREENWOOD, S.C. – January 19, 2008 – Perhaps everything is coming together at the right time for the Clayton State Laker men’s basketball team.

Fresh off ending a three-game losing skid at Georgia Southwestern on Wednesday, the Lakers made it two straight victories on Saturday with a 65-59 Peach Belt Conference victory at Lander on Saturday. The victory evens up the Lakers at 7-7 overall, and Clayton State improves to 3-4 in the Peach Belt.

It was doubly-special for Michael Sloan. The Clayton State senior guard reached a milestone by becoming the sixth player in Clayton State history to reach 1,000 career points.

"Getting through adversity and playing the rest of the possessions well shows the maturity of a basketball team," said Clayton State head coach Gordon Gibbons. "The players are buying more to what we want with good defense and sacrificing individual offense for team offense."

Clayton State used a 34-8 run that spanned two halves, erasing an early 12-point Lander lead in the first half. Lander hit five 3-point baskets early to build a 23-11 lead with 9:45 remaining in the first half. But Clayton State responded with a 16-2 run over the remainder of the half to take a 27-25 lead at halftime.

Jerome Boyd tied the game on an inside lay-up, and then took the lead when Ricky Garrett nailed a one-handed dunk off a pass in the lane by Armel Traore Dit Nignan at the buzzer.

"The key for us was finishing the first half strong, and we haven’t done a good job of that this season," Gibbons said. "The players are starting to understand that better now."

The Lakers extended that two-point lead to 14 points early in the second half. However, Lander countered with a 7-0 run to trim the Clayton State lead to 45-38. Dane Sparrow then hit consecutive 3-point baskets to pull the Bearcats to within 50-47 with 7:20 remaining.

After Clayton State extended its lead back to seven points twice, Lander countered by trimming the Laker lead to four points twice. Zach Evans’ driving lay-up with 40 seconds remaining made the Clayton State lead 63-59. That, however, was as close as Lander would get.

Boyd had a tremendous game inside with 17 points and five rebounds, while Sloan scored 14 points. His two free throws at the 1:56 mark of the second half not only put the Lakers back up by six points, 59-53, it also moved him over the 1,000 point milestone.

"It’s great for Michael Sloan," Gibbons said. "He’s everything in a player that a coach could ever want. If there’s anyone that deserves this milestone more, it’s Sloan."

Ricky Garrett added 11 points for the Lakers, who shot 62 percent from the field in the second half.

Evans scored 16 points for Lander (5-8, 2-4), followed by Houston Wright with 12 points.