LAKEWOOD, N.J. (Dec. 29, 2022) - The year of firsts continues for Georgian Court Men's Basketball. Their terrific start extended to after the holiday break defeating Jefferson 75-65. The win is the Lions third straight and moves them to 7-4 on the season and 3-0 in CACC games.

How it Happened
• Aside from two minutes of game action, it was the Lions who were in front in this one. They led for 38 total minutes and after 18:47 in the first half, never trailed.
• The Lions shot 50% for the game and were 7-20 from three. Their swarming defense held the Rams to just 36.7% shooting and 31.3% from three.
• Georgian Court helped themselves at the free throw line going 16-21 while the Rams were just 11-24 at the stripe.
• Jefferson held the edge on the glass, 41-30, and pulled down 23 offensive rebounds. They turned those into just 13 second-chance points though.
• Georgian Court also did a better job holding onto the ball, committing just 13 turnovers while the Rams lost it 20 times.
• Jefferson made the first basket of the game, a three from Hakim Byrd at the 18:47 mark. He was answered right away from Clint Wright and that 15 seconds where the Rams led 3-0 was the only lead in the game for Jefferson.
• Tied up at five, Georgian Court quickly took over scoring 10 unanswered, the first eight came from Jamaal Waters. The Lions kept their foot on the gas and a jumper from Jelani Jackson made it 26-8 Lions with 12 minutes left to play in the half.
• The Lions took their largest lead in the game, 33-12, following a Jalen Bates floater and-one, and Georgian Court could do no wrong. 
• Jefferson hung around as the Lions finally went cold. GCU went 4:27 without scoring and that allowed Jefferson to score 10 straight and bring the lead down to single-digits, 35-26. The Rams cut it to eight, but Cameron Edmonds sunk a three late in the half and the Lions were up 11, 42-31, at the break.
• The Lion lead hung around 10 for the early part of the second half, but then GCU got hot again. Waters hit a layup and Clint Wright, Jr. buried a three to put the Lions up 15. Wright went back-to-back from three-point land and Jelani Jackson with a layup put Georgian Court ahead 20, 57-37, with just over 13 minutes left to play.
• That lead dwindled back down to six, thanks to a 15-1 Jefferson run. Just under 10 minutes left to play and the Rams trailed 58-52. Jackson though responded by burying a three and the Georgian Court defense stepped up to keep the Rams quiet for nearly three minutes. 
• Jefferson was back within six with 2:46 left, but the Lions held them to just 1-8 the rest of the way from the field. Needing to foul, Wright, Jr. and Jackson combined to go 5-6 at the line in the final minute to hold off Jefferson, 75-65.

It Was Over When...
• Clint Wright scored on the fast break from Jalen Bates making it an eight-point game, 70-62, with 1:46 remaining and the defense did the rest. The Lions held Jefferson to just 1-7 from the field the rest of the way for the win.

Lion Stat Leaders
• Jamaal Waters was 8-9 from the field for 21 points with seven rebounds and a blocked shot.
• Clint Wright, Jr. added 21 as well going 7-11 and 3-6 from three.
• Jelani Jackson came off the bench to score 14 points and helped out defensively with three steals.
• Shane Williams scored seven points.
• Jalen Bates added five with seven assists.

For the Rams
• Erik Timko led Jefferson scoring 13 points going 3-5 from three. He followed out though and played just 29 minutes.
• Antonin Kemkeng pulled down 12 rebounds and scored seven points.
• Bismark Nsiah was a rebound shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine boards.
• Jason Shields hit three triples and scored 10 points.

News and Notes
• This is the Lions first ever win against Jefferson.
• It's also the Lions first time ever starting CACC play 3-0.
• Shane Williams hit his 150th career field goal.
• This is the third time this season and second in three conference games the Lions have shot better than 50% from the floor.

Up Next
• The Lions look to keep it rolling Saturday, Dec. 31 as they host Post as part of a CACC doubleheader with the Georgian Court women. The Lions are scheduled to tip-off at 2 p.m.