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.

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