MORROW, Ga. --- Behind a season-high point total from John Beugnot and their stout defense, the 25th-ranked Clayton State Lakers cruised to 72-54 Peach Belt Conference victory over Lander Wednesday at the Athletics & Fitness Center.
Beugnot, a junior from Lyon, France, finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead the club. And once again, Clayton State's defense proved to be a difference maker, holding the Bearcats to only 32 percent (19-of-59) shooting from the floor.
Clayton State entered the game as the national leader, holding opponents to only 36 percent shooting on the season. The club has held nine of it last nine opponents to under 40 percent shooting from the field.
After both teams swapped baskets in the first nine minutes of the game, Clayton State closed the first period with a 28-13 run in the final 12 minutes to take a 41-27 lead at intermission.
Beugnot led the team in the half with 12 points and gave the squad a 14 point lead, 30-16, with two free throws with 7:06 remaining. Lander came back with seven straight points and cut the deficit to 30-23 with a three-pointer by Emmanuel Hodrea.
Clayton State answered over the final five minutes though, first reeling off seven straight points of its own, capped by a three-point play by Beugnot, giving the squad a 37-23 lead with 2:25 left. CSU maintained its 14-point lead into the locker rooms.
In the second half, Clayton State led by at least 16 points or more the entire stanza except for one early possession in the period. A three-pointer by Brandon Kelley with 8:38 remaining gave the squad its largest lead of the 23 points, 65-42.
With the win, the Lakers improve to 16-3 overall and 9-3 in the Peach Belt. Lander drops to 5-13 overall and 2-9 in the league. Clayton State, will return to action on Saturday at USC Upstate, while Lander will host Columbus State.
Behind Beugnot's season high 22 points, which came on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor and 7-of-7 from the free throw line, Kelley and Cedrick Kalombo each added 11 points.
For Lander, Jarred Jackson finished with 14 points and six rebounds, followed by Hodrea with 12 points. Scottie Smith led the Bearcats with eight boards.
After shooting over 50 percent from the field for three straight games, the Lakers shot a respectable 47 percent (26-of-55) on Wednesday. Lander outrebounded CSU 44-33 but did commit 16 turnovers compared to the Lakers' 10.
