MORROW, Ga. |  Marcellus Roberts scored 17 of his game-high 24 points in the second half as the Young Harris College men's basketball team rallied from 17 points down to defeat Clayton State University 70-64 in a Peach Belt Conference men's basketball game Wednesday (Feb. 15) evening.

The Mountain Lions snapped their five-game losing streak as they improved to 14-11 and to 8-8 in the Peach Belt, while the Lakers fell to 14-12 and 9-8. The Mountain Lions are currently in sixth place in the PBC West Division, but only a half game out of third place.  The top four teams from each division make the PBC Tournament, which begins Feb. 25 at campus sites.

Young Harris returns to the YHC Basketball Arena to play its final three regular season games, starting with a 3:30 p.m. contest Saturday (Feb. 18) against Georgia Southwestern State University. Young Harris will recognize its five seniors prior to the start of the game.

The Mountain Lions started quick out of the gates, opening up a 16-5 lead on a jumper by Roberts with 13:30 left in the first half, but Young Harris went cold from the floor - 31.0 percent (9-of-29) - as Clayton State responded to open up a 17-point lead (37-20) after Kendall Joseph hit a three-pointer with 90 second before halftime. 

Clayton State still held a 12-point advantage (47-35) when the lights went out with 14:15 remaining, causing a five-minute delay. The Mountain Lions were able to regroup after the delay and got within seven points (52-45) on a C.J. Wilson jumper with 10:21 to play. However, the Lakers pushed the lead back to 14 points (59-45) two minutes later on two Joseph free throws. 

"I thought when they lights went out it gave us a rest and we were able to regroup," said YHC head coach Pete Herrmann. "We guarded much better and took the ball to the rim in the second half. Marcellus and Marques played well down the stretch for us."

That would be the last points by the Lakers over the next five minutes as the Mountain Lions rattled off 17 unanswered points - seven by Roberts - as they took a 62-59 lead on an old-fashioned three-point play by Roberts with 3:40 remaining. The Lakers missed all four field goal attempts during that dry spell and turned the ball over four times.

The Lakers pulled within a point (62-61), but Roberts responded with a dunk on the Mountain Lions' next possession to take a 64-61 lead with 2:21 left. Clayton State got within two points (66-64) on an Alfonso Davis jumper with 73 seconds left, but YHC got two free throws by Ben Waterhouse and a Marques McKoy dunk in the final 22 seconds to keep the Lakers at bay and its playoff hopes still alive.

Young Harris hit 57.6 percent (19-of-33) of its field goals in the final 20 minutes, while the Lakers went 9-of-31 (29.0 percent). The Mountain Lions held a 23-17 lead on the boards in the second half and outscored Clayton State 26-8 in the paint, including a 12-4 advantage in second-chance points.

Roberts led the Mountain Lions with 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the floor and grabbed nine rebounds, while Waterhouse had 16 points and five rebounds. McKoy added nine points, while Wilson finished with eight points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Davis led the Lakers with 23 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots, while Joseph added 14 points.