Morrow, Ga.----Clayton State University senior guards Teandre Williams (Atlanta, Ga.) and Anthony Salter (Tallahassee, Fla.) combined for 35 points to help the Lakers rally for a 55-50 NCAA Division II men’s basketball victory over Wingate University Saturday afternoon at the Athletics & Fitness Center on the CSU campus. Williams and Salter hit seven-of-nine three-point field goals in the Southeast Region contest.

Clayton State improves to 3-1 overall, while Wingate is 2-5 overall. The Bulldogs open South Atlantic Conference play Wednesday night, visiting defending league champion Lincoln Memorial University at 8 p.m. The CSU Lakers host Carver (Ga.) College Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m.

Wingate junior forward Odell Turner (Charlotte, N.C.) led the Bulldogs with 14 points, seven rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals. The Myers Park High School product hit 10-of-13 free throws. Senior guard Jaime Vaughn (Tallahassee, Fla.) added nine points for the visitors.
 
The Bulldogs led 35-27 following two free throws by sophomore center Jeffrey Parker (Madison, N.C.) with 18:43 remaining in the contest. The Lakers countered with a 14-4 run to take a 41-39 lead on a Williams jumper with 10:19 left. The advantage was the first CSU lead since the 12:36 mark of the first half.
 
Turner tied the game for the third and final time with two free throws on the next trip down the court. Williams gave the hosts the lead for good at the 9:41 mark with a three-pointer. Salter hit a triple at 6:59 to put the Lakers up 51-43. The eight-point margin was Clayton State’s largest lead of the night.
 
Wingate did not quit, putting together a 7-2 spurt to cut the deficit to 53-50 on a Vaughn free throw with 1:52 to go. The Bulldogs missed two shots on two separate possessions with the opportunity to make the contest a one-point game. Two free throws by Williams with six seconds to play accounted for the final margin.
 
The rebounding battle was knotted at 35-35. Turner’s seven boards led Wingate, while CSU junior center Andrew Bachanov (Orlando, Fla.) had eight rebounds for the Lakers. Wingate shot 33.3 percent from the floor (14-of-42), while Clayton State converted 32 percent of its field goal attempts (16-of-50). The Lakers hit eight shots from downtown, compared to four for the Bulldogs.
 
In the first half, Wingate led 22-12 on a lay-up by freshman guard Ryan Daye (Burlington, N.C.) at the 8:57 mark. Clayton State responded with six unanswered points to cut the deficit to 22-18 on a Tumer free throw with 7:29 to play. Tumer also contributed a three-point field goal to the spurt.
 
Bulldog junior point guard Ethan Kincaid (Morganton, N.C.) nailed a three-pointer to push Wingate’s lead to 28-20 with 3:11 remaining in the opening frame. The CSU Lakers posted seven consecutive points to make the score 28-27 on a fast break lay-up by junior guard Reco Lewis (Palatka, Fla.) with 42 ticks left.
 
Turner hit a short jumper at the halftime buzzer to give the visiting Bulldogs a 30-27 lead at intermission. Turner led Wingate with eight first-half points. Williams had nine points for Clayton State in the first half.