MORROW, Ga. - The Columbus State University men's basketball team withstood a second half comeback from Clayton State to hold on for a 77-72 victory on Wednesday. The Peach Belt Conference game took place inside The Loch in Morrow, Ga.

The Cougars (11-6, 6-3 PBC) led by as many as 13 points in the first half before going cold from the floor. Coming out of the break, Clayton State scored 10 unanswered points to quickly tie the game at 47. 

The two sides went back-and-forth over the final 16-plus minutes of the game as the score changed hands eight times. In the final minutes, CSU held a 69-68 lead, but a dunk by Gabriel Joseph-Bryan put the Lakers back ahead with 1:41 to go. On the following possession, Anthony Moore was the hero tipping-in the go-ahead bucket off a missed shot to give CSU a one-point lead.

Clayton State (3-12, 1-8 PBC) had decent looks on its next two trips down the floor, but neither went in. The Cougars would ice the game by going 6-for-6 from the free throw line over the final 56 seconds to seal the win. 

"There isn't such a thing as ugly wins," commented head coach Robert Moore. "It wasn't easy tonight, but we knew coming in that it was going to be hard to win here against these guys."

"The first half was excellent and I think we just got a little tight in the second. Hunter [Preston] was excellent for us once again. When he is aggressive, he can score in bunches and I feel like he could have had 30 or more tonight if he kept shooting."

Preston was 10-for-17 from the field en route to a season-high 25 points. The junior also grabbed a season-high nine rebounds falling one short of his first double-double of the season.

Landrius Horton (17) and Bryant Givens (10) were in double figures in scoring as well. Horton added seven rebounds and three steals while Givens dished out six assists. Moore led the team with 10 rebounds. 

Columbus State had a decent night shooting overall posting a 43.8 percent clip, but struggled from long range. The Cougars went just 1-for-15 from beyond the arc.

The Cougars will return home to the Lumpkin Center on Saturday, Jan. 25 to host Young Harris. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. It will be "Cougar Alumni Day" with all former CSU men's and women's basketball players receiving free admission into the doubleheader. 

The Junior League of Columbus will also be hosting "Dribbling For Diapers" on Saturday. Admission into the doubleheader is just a pack of diapers for each adult while children get in free of charge. All proceeds will go to support the Junior League of Columbus' Healthy Child Initiatives in Columbus and the Chattahoochee Valley region.
 

Play-by-Play

First Half

It took a little bit for Columbus State to get going as the first Cougar bucket didn't come until the 18:47 mark when Cam Paulding hit a jumper. A few minutes later, CSU was up 9-2 thanks to five points from Landrius Horton and another basket by Paulding. From there, Clayton State would put together its best stretch of the first half rattling off a 13-4 run to move in front 19-15 with 12:23 to go. CSU was just 2-for-7 during the spurt. The Cougars would get out of the funk in a huge way thanks to a 16-3 run giving CSU its first double-digit lead of the night at 35-24. A Hunter Preston three-point play kickstarted the run while Jalen Thomas made the only 3-pointer of the night during the stretch. Columbus State continued to add on taking a game-high 13-point advantage, 45-32, at the 1:10 mark after Preston scored his 16th first half point.

Second Half

Clayton State quickly tied the game at 47 less than four minutes into the half thanks to 10 straight points. Devan Porter-Wilson broke the deadlock with a jumper which helped CSU remain in front for the next few minutes until another Laker run. Two 3-pointers helped Clayton State score 10 of the next 12 points that saw the Lakers move ahead 58-55 with 10:44 to play. Columbus State didn't allow the game to get away as Karl Ivey helped ease the pain with a jumper to keep the Cougars within striking distance. After Anthony Moore tied the game at 60, the two teams traded the lead seven times over the final six minutes. The Lakers led 63-60 when back-to-back buckets from Moore and Preston gave Columbus State its first advantage since leading 55-53. A three-point play by Kyle Kincey made it a 68-66 game for Clayton State, but the Cougars rallied again. Preston went 1-for-2 from the free throw line before the defense forced a turnover allowing Givens to put CSU back on top at 69-68 with over two minutes to play. Another lead change put the Cougars down one, 70-69, before Moore recorded his biggest rebound of the season. After a missed layup, Moore tipped the ball off the carom and into the bucket pushing Columbus State ahead. Clayton State had decent looks on its next two trips down the floor, but neither went in. The Cougars would ice the game away going 6-for-6 from the free throw line over the final 56 seconds to seal the win.

 

Inside the Numbers

• The Cougars improve to 6-1 over the past seven games. It's the best seven-game stretch for CSU since the start of the 2016-17 season. • Prior to Wednesday, Columbus State had made nine or more 3-pointers in each of the last six games.  • The last time Columbus State didn't make two or more 3-pointers in a game was on Jan. 12, 2012. That night, CSU was 0-for-13 from beyond the arc. • Columbus State has won three games in which it has made five or fewer 3-pointers in 2019-20. • It's the third time this season that Columbus State committed just seven turnovers. The Cougars forced 14 Clayton State miscues. • CSU's bench is averaging 37 points over the last three games.  • It was just the second time this year that the Cougars failed to record 10 or more assists.  • The win snapped a seven-game losing streak for the Cougars against Clayton State. The previous win for the Cougars came on Feb. 24, 2016.