YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. | C.J. Wilson scored 19 of his game-high 31 points in the second half as Young Harris College rallied from a 13-point deficit to pick up a 79-71 Peach Belt Conference men's basketball victory over Clayton State University Saturday (Jan. 2) afternoon at the YHC Basketball Arena.
 
The Mountain Lions improved to 5-7 overall and remained undefeated in the Peach Belt with a 3-0 mark. The Lakers fell to 6-4 and 1-2. Young Harris returns to action Monday (Jan. 4) with a 7:30 p.m. PBC contest in Dahlonega, Georgia, against cross-mountain rival University of North Georgia.
 
Young Harris jumped out to a 10-3 lead after Marcellus Roberts hit two free throws with 12:52 remaining in the first half. However, the Lakers took control of game as they limited Young Harris to 25.0 percent shooting (8-of-32) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.
 
Clayton State, which lead 38-29 at the intermission, would push its lead out to as many as 13 points (56-43) on a Richard Bell layup with 13:13 to play. Behind a trapping defense, Young Harris outscored the Lakers 21-6 over the next seven minutes to retake a 64-63 lead on a Roberts dunk after a steal by Ben Waterhouse with 5:29 left. The Mountain Lions forced Clayton State into seven turnovers and limited Clayton State to 3-of-13 shooting during the decisive rally.
 
"I thought we were dead in the water before we went to a trapping defense," said Young Harris head coach Pete Herrmann. "We forced them into a lot of turnovers and we played well down the stretch as a team."
 
Clayton State would retake the lead at 70-67 on a Bell putback with 3:06 left, but the Mountain Lions, who committed a season-low nine turnovers, limited the Lakers to just one point down the stretch.
 
The Mountain Lions took the lead for good at 72-71 on a Waterhouse three-pointer with 2:08 left after an offensive rebound by Bjorn Walker. YHC put the game away from the free throw line as they hit 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch. The Mountain Lions shot a season-best 82.4 percent (28-of-34) from the charity stripe.
 
Wilson finished with 31 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Mountain Lions while Waterhouse added 14 points and four assists. Roberts tallied 10 points, four rebounds and a game-high five blocked shots. Marques McKoy, who is ranked 19th in NCAA Division II statistics in rebounding, grabbed a game-high 14 rebound and added four blocked shots as YHC recorded 10 blocked shots. Walker nearly had a double double as he had nine points and nine rebounds.
 
Saiquan Terry led Clayton State with 13 points and five assists while Dantez Bennamon and Bell added 11 points apiece. Alfonso Davis led the Lakers with 10 rebounds while Takija Knight added five blocked shots and seven rebounds.