COLUMBUS – The Albany State University men's basketball team despite a great effort fell to the Columbus State University men's basketball team 80-68 Saturday afternoon. The nonconference game took place inside the Lumpkin Center.

Albany State scored the opening bucket of the game, but it was all CSU after that. A CSU jumper followed by a 3-pointer jumpstarted a 19-4 run that gave Columbus State a 19-6 lead just six minutes into the game.

Three Golden Rams scored in double figures led by McClure's double-double performance with 28 points and 11 rebounds. The senior was 12-for-13 from the field. Mario Young added 13 while Kamil Brown scored 12 points.  

Four Cougars scored in double figures led by Taylor's 21 points. The senior was 9-for-14 from the field with three rebounds. L. Horton added 20 while Robert Davis Jr. and Hunter Preston scored 12 and 10, respectively. 

Albany State shot 51.9 percent (28-for-54) from the floor and 57.9 percent (11-for-19) from the free throw line.

Albany State's lone lead came after Randy McClure scored the opening basket of the game before the Cougars went on a dominating 19-4 run behind 12 points from L. Horton. Columbus State would continue to build the lead stretching the margin to 28-11 following a successful three-point play by Davis Jr. at the 9:16 mark. The Cougars held a half-high lead of 18, 36-18, before the Golden Rams began to chip away. A 12-0 spurt by ASU cut the score to 36-28 in the closing minute of the half until Chris Horton nailed a 3-pointer to give CSU a 39-28 halftime advantage.
 
The victory was never in jeopardy for Columbus State in the second half with the Cougars holding a double-digit lead for the majority of the half. With CSU's lead hovering around 10, the Cougars strung together a run to put the game to rest. After a Joshua Jerome bucket by ASU made the score 56-45, seven straight points gave the Cougars a 19-point advantage with just eight minutes to play. C. Horton would eventually give Columbus State its largest lead of the night at 69-49 two minutes later thanks to another three ball. Albany State wouldn't threaten for the remainder of the game.
 
The Golden Rams will be back in action on Saturday, Dec. 14 traveling to Jackson, Tennessee for a matchup against Lane College. Tipoff will be at 4:00 p.m. inside J F Lane Gymnasium.