YOUNG HARRIS, Ga.  |  Nicksen Blanc scored a career-high 26 points as Young Harris College fell short to Clayton State University 88-85 in a Peach Belt Conference men's basketball game Wednesday (Jan. 31) evening at the YHC Basketball Arena.

The Lakers improved to 13-5 overall and 11-3 in the PBC, while the Mountain Lions fell to 6-14 and 5-9. Young Harris returns to action Sunday (Feb. 4) as they travel to Americus, Georgia, to take on Georgia Southwestern State University in a 3:30 p.m. PBC contest. 

Blanc scored 16 of his 26 points in the first half for the Mountain Lions as he went 7-of-10 from the floor. Clayton State jumped to a 10-point lead (17-7) at the 14:39 mark in the first half after a three-pointer by Aubrey McRae. J.B. Charles brought the score within two (25-22) for Young Harris on a layup with 8:54 remaining. Blanc scored six of the next seven points for the Mountain Lions to bring Clayton State's lead down to one (31-30) after a layup with 5:21 left in the half.

The Lakers used a 12-2 run to push their lead out to 11 points (45-34) after a jumper by Nathan Powell with two minutes before the half. Corey Nelson and Blanc each drilled a jumper and Ben Waterhouse nailed a three in the final 1:36 for Young Harris in the first half to cut the lead down to five (45-40) at the half. 

The Mountain Lions were down by just two points (60-58) after a free throw shot by Greg Murphy with 11:23 left in the game.  Clayton State went on a 15-4 run over the next 4:20 to hold a 75-62 advantage after a Christoff Naim layup with 7:03 to play. The Mountain Lions battled back as Antonio Wade brought the score with three (82-79) after a layup at the 2:05 mark. After a made free throw by Dantez Bennamon gave the Lakers an 88-85 lead with 14 seconds left in the game, Wade missed the game tying three-pointer as time expired. 

Powell finished with a double double of 24 points and 12 rebounds for Clayton State. Bennamon tallied 19 points, McRae added 13 points. Justin Tuckson scored 12 points and Nairn added 10 points. 

Blanch ended with a double double as he grabed  11 rebounds. Charles finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. Waterhouse tallied 15 points, and Wade scored 13 points and had eight assists.