On Saturday, Clayton State's mens and women's

basketball teams hosted Francis Marion. The Lady Lakers played

fourth ranked Francis Marion University tough, leading by

seven points until the final five and a half minutes of the

game. During that stretch, Francis Marion nailed eight baskets

and collected two offensive rebounds. Clayton State

committed four turnovers and shot 1 for 8 from the floor. "We played

38 minutes of solid basketball," said interim head coach

Jolyn Smith. "Unfortunately, things did not go our way in the

final few minutes."

Junior Joya Collier got her fifth double-double of the

year, scoring a game high 21 points and grabbing 15

rebounds. Francis Marion out-rebounded Clayton State 52-40 and

made nine more free throws on nine more attempts. Clayton

State travels to Columbus State on Wednesday night for a game

at 5:30.

The mens team had much better luck with Francis

Marion University. Francis marion, the coaches' preseason favorite

to win the conference, trailed the Lakers by 14 points at the

half. The Patriots opened the second half with a 24-5 run though

and took a 52-48 lead. Clayton State responded by going on a

15-2 run to lead the game by a score of 63-54. Francis Marion cut

the lead to three with about two minutes to go but the

Lakers scored nine of the last 11 points and won, 72-62.

Senior Robert Conley led the Lakers in scoring with

27 points. Freshman Charlie Frazier Jr scored 12 points

and freshman Damien Williams finished with 10. The

Lakers improve to 10-5 for the year and 2-3 in the Peach Belt

Athletic Conference. Clayton State will face Columbus State after

the women's game.

<!--##############