It was also a big measure of revenge for the Lakers, who suffered a humiliating 84-58 defeat to West Georgia back on Nov. 20 at the Athletics and Fitness Center.

"This team made a bond after that bad start, and they are continuing with it," said Gibbons, who is now 5-7 against West Georgia while at Clayton State. "There were some things that had to get better, and tonight was a huge benefit of the way we’ve approached everything since the early rock bottom."

While Clayton State didn’t shoot the ball impressively (36 percent from the field), the Lakers controlled the glass, out-rebounding West Georgia 47-34. That included a whopping 20 offensive rebounds. In addition, Clayton State held the normally sure-shooting Wolves to only 38 percent shooting from the field, including only 20 percent (5-for-24) from 3-point range.

There were seven lead-changes and five ties in the first half alone. The largest lead of the half was a six-point cushion for West Georgia, 21-15 on Terrence Hundley’s 3-point basket at the 8:31 mark. The Lakers, however, responded with a 7-0 run as two Bernard Fields free throws gave Clayton State a 22-21 lead with 5:09 remaining in the first half.

But West Georgia came back again with late run as both Hundley and Adam Stanger drained jump shots, giving the Wolves a 30-27 lead at halftime.

In the second half, however, Clayton State came alive. The Lakers wiped out the Wolves’ lead quickly as Tracy Williams converted a lay-up in transition to take a 33-32 lead with 16:49 remaining. Clayton State then extended the lead three times to five points, and then to seven points, 52-45 on a lay-up by Will Lewis at the eight-minute mark.

While West Georgia rallied again and took a brief one-point lead, Lewis gave the Lakers the lead for good, 54-53 on a jump shot in the lane with 4:21 remaining. From there, Clayton State out-scored West Georgia 13-5 down the stretch, leading by as many as 11 points late. In the final 10 minutes of the game, the Lakers were 13-for-14 from the free throw line.

"We really took control in the second half," Gibbons said. "We dominated the offensive glass and executed our way through the second half."

Fields paced Clayton State with 13 points off the bench, while senior guard Michael Sloan scored 12 points. Senior center Jerome Boyd had another strong performance off the bench with 10 points, while junior forward Brian Kelly grabbed 11 rebounds.

For West Georgia (6-2), Hundley recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Doug Daniels scored 12 points and Henrick Foster scored 10 points.

Clayton State will be back in action next Saturday (Dec. 15) at home against another Gulf South Conference power – North Alabama – at 7:30 p.m. at the Athletics and Fitness Center.