Box Score Jamal Pollydore scored 18 points, 15 in a second half that saw the Clark Atlanta University Panthers erase a nine-point halftime deficit and defeat Central State University 71-68 Saturday in L.S. Epps Gymnasium.

The win moves the Panthers to 10-1 overall, 5-0 in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

On an afternoon where the Panthers weren't shooting their best, Central State (4-6, 3-2 SIAC) came out aggressive, opening up a double-digit lead twice in the first half and leading 41-32 at halftime.

But CAU fought back, with Pollydore's layup with 11:29 remaining putting the Panthers back on top at 55-54.  The teams traded baskets before CAU took the lead for good on Austin Donaldson's two free throws with 6:26 left giving CAU a 61-59 lead.   The Panthers then held on the rest of the way to get the win.

Pollydore led four in double-figures with 18 points.   He also had four rebounds. Donaldson finished with 15 points, five rebounds, two assists and four steals. Akil Douglas had 13 points, 11 rebounds and an assist.  Jalen Mitchell had ten points and nine rebounds, while Damien Davis had six points and eight rebounds.

Central State was led by Davone Daniels who had a game-high 23 points.

"This is what I call a grind out game," said CAU head coach Darrell Walker.  "If you're going to be a good team, you have to win grind out games, and we won a grind out game against Central State.  They played well and they are well-coached.  We got it, but I'm not happy about it. We've got work to do.

"We've got to get better execution-wise, for sure," he said. "Defensively, it's hard for me to say a lot because we held a team to 68 points. That's pretty damn good defense, to be honest.  We'll chalk it up as a win. It's a win.  I'm never too happy, but it's a win."

Next up for CAU is Kentucky State Monday night at 8 p.m. in L.S. Epps Gymnasium.  Kentucky State (3-9, 2-3 SIAC) lost to Morehouse 103-88 Saturday.

"[Kentucky State] plays fast and they average around 85, 86 points a game," Walker said.  "They get the ball up court. We're going to need another defensive effort. They have a really good point guard who scored 29 points on us last year, so we have to make sure we pay attention to him and get after it."