FLORENCE, SC -  Junior 5-7 guard Timothy Downs scored a career-high 27 points and Clayton State University rode the benefits of a big first-half lead to an 81-70 win over Francis Marion University, Saturday afternoon (Feb. 13) in Peach Belt Conference men's basketball action.

Francis Marion drops its second straight home game and falls to 17-6 overall and 9-5 in the PBC.  The Lakers improve to 13-10 and 6-7.

Senior swingman Kaylan Anderson led FMU with 13 points, 11 of which came in the final 11 minutes.  The 6-5 Toronto native also grabbed a team-high six rebounds.  Junior Simel Boyd scored 11points, while 6-8 junior Robert Faulkner added 10 points off the Patriot bench.

The Patriots will entertain Lander University on Senior Night, Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

Downs connected on 9-of-13 shots and 7-of-8 free throws.  Forward Brandon Robinson scored 15 points and guard Robert Murry chipped in 13.

Clayton State scored the game's opening eight points and never trailed.  A three-pointer by FMU senior Herman Mains trimmed the deficit to 14-7, but Clayton State responded with a 15-3 spurt that left the Patriots trailing 29-10 with 5:40 remaining in the half.  Overall, Francis Marion missed 20 of its first 24 field goal attempts.

Clayton State led 42-27 at halftime as the Lakers shot 51.6 percent, including 7-of-9 three-point attempts, over the first 20 minutes.

The Patriots trailed by 13 points (55-42) with 13:20 left, but rallied with an 11-2 run over the next 2:20. A three-point play by Anderson capped the run and cut the margin to 57-53.  Clayton State answered with an 8-2 spurt and the margin climbed back to double figures at 65-55. 

Again, the Patriots would cut the advantage to four at 72-68 following a three-pointer by Kendrick Robinson with 2:56 remaining.  However, the Lakers scored the next six points - on a free throw by Armon Jones, a three-pointer by Murry, and two free throws by Eric Wilson - to restore the margin to 10 at 78-68.

The Lakers connected on 53.7 percent of their shots for the game, including 9-of-14 three-point attempts. FMU entered the game as the ninth-best team in Division II in three-point percentage defense, while Clayton State ranked in the bottom third of the country in three-point shooting.

In Wednesday night's road win at North Georgia, the Patriots led 20-0 in fast-break points, but on Saturday the Lakers owned a 15-2 advantage in transition points.

2-13-10 4:00 p.m. at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
CLAYTON STATE UNIVERSITY 81, FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 70
CLAYTON STATE UNIVERSITY (13-10, 6-7 PBC)
Downs, Timothy 9-13 7-8 27; Robinson, Brandon 6-12 0-0 15; Murry, Robert
5-13 2-2 13; Rhines, Luvonte 3-5 0-0 9; Greene, Torrin 3-5 0-0 6; Wilson,
Eric 1-2 2-2 4; Jones, Armon 0-1 3-6 3; Dobbs, Jaquas 1-2 0-0 2; Daniels,
Germeil 1-1 0-0 2; Austin, Jonathan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-54 14-18 81.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (17-6, 9-5 PBC)
Anderson, Kaylan 5-20 1-1 13; Boyd, Simel 4-8 3-4 11; Faulkner, Robert 3-7
2-2 10; Turner, David 3-7 0-0 8; Robinson, Kendrick 3-9 1-2 8; Mains, Herman
3-7 0-0 7; Julious, Bryant 2-5 0-0 5; Smith, Andrew 2-2 0-0 4; Candelaria,
Mike 1-6 0-0 3; Gullatte, Edward 0-2 1-2 1; Sinkler, Mark 0-0 0-0 0;
Peterson, Andy 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-73 8-11 70.
Halftime:  Clayton State University  42 Francis Marion University 27
3-point goals--Clayton State University 9-14 (Robinson, Brandon 3-5; Rhines,
Luvonte 3-5; Downs, Timothy 2-2; Murry, Robert 1-1; Greene, Torrin 0-1),
Francis Marion University 10-38 (Anderson, Kaylan 2-9; Turner, David 2-5;
Faulkner, Robert 2-3; Candelaria, Mike 1-6; Mains, Herman 1-4; Robinson,
Kendrick 1-7; Julious, Bryant 1-2; Gullatte, Edward 0-1; Boyd, Simel 0-1).
Fouled out--Clayton State University-None, Francis Marion University-None.
Rebounds--Clayton State University 40 (Jones, Armon 13), Francis Marion
University 35 (Anderson, Kaylan 6). Assists--Clayton State University 14
(Wilson, Eric 3), Francis Marion University 19 (Julious, Bryant 5). Total
fouls--Clayton State University 10, Francis Marion University 18. Technical
fouls--Wilson, Eric. A-500