MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – Despite three double-digit scorers, the Georgia College men's basketball team (7-3, 1-1 PBC) lost a 65-62 game Saturday to Clayton State University (11-3, 2-1 PBC) in the Centennial Center.   

Junior Ryan Aquino (Roswell, Ga.) paced the Bobcats with 14 points, adding a team-high nine rebounds. Classmate Jared Holmes (Indianapolis) and sophomore guard Nate Hamilton (Snellville, Ga.) added 11 points each, but it wasn't enough to hold off a 26-point onslaught from Clayton guard Timmy Downs. 

Bobcat forward Josh Hurst (Athens, Ga.) ended with a solid line of nine points, nine caroms and two steals, while sophomore point guard Ryan Legates (Marietta, Ga.) matched his season-high with eight assists. Senior Reece Wiedeman (Suwanee, Ga.) matched the team-high with nine rebounds. Hamilton has double-digit scoring in five out of the last six games.

GC held the lead for the majority of the first half, having as much as a nine-point advantage on a pair of occasions. The second time came at the 12:00 mark and preceded a 13-2 run by the Lakers, giving them the lead with 3:49 left in the first half. After trading buckets, the Bobcats knotted up the game at 33-33 on a Wiedeman lay-up with 11 seconds left and reached the half tied. Wiedeman finished with seven points.

The Lakers controlled the second stanza, getting the lead to double digits at 61-51 with 5:34 left on a Torrin Greene lay-in. The Bobcats cut the lead to four with 2:03 remaining, but after both teams traded fruitless possessions, Downs made a runner in the lane for a six-point lead with 39 seconds left. Hurst knocked down a three at the buzzer to make the score closer at the 65-62 final.

Downs shot 9-of-17 from the floor, but added a 5-of-9 effort from long-range. He also had six boards. Forward Brandon Robinson helped him out with 18 points and seven rebounds.

The game was fairly even in rebounds, GC gaining a 45-42 advantage. Turnovers didn't tell the story either, as GC caused 12 and gave up 10. The Lakers simply out-shot GC, to the tune of 42 percent (23-55) to Georgia College's 37 (23-63), and made more threes, a 9-to-5 advantage.

The Bobcats are back in action Wednesday, Jan. 13 at 7:30 p.m., hosting Georgia Southwestern State University (7-3, 0-1 PBC). The Hurricanes had a late game at No. 19 University of Montevallo tonight.

The Georgia College Department of Athletics, back-to-back winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup, sponsors 10 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' multiple appearances in post-season competition as well as documented academic success and community-service involvement. Sign up at www.twitter.com/GCSUBobcats and www.facebook.com/gcbobcats for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit www.GCBobcats.com for more information, and to nominate your favorite former Bobcats and Colonials to the GC Athletics Hall of Fame.