Jalen Mitchell had 19 points to lead a Clark Atlanta effort that fell short at the very end as CAU lost to Albany State 62-55 at L.S. Epps Gymnasium Saturday.

The loss drops Clark Atlanta (8-8, 5-5 SIAC) to a game-and-a-half behind second-place Albany State (7-12, 6-3 SIAC) in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference East Division standings. Morehouse leads the East Division race with an 8-2 record in conference play.

CAU fell behind early, trailing Albany State by 13 points midway through the first half after Titus Burns' 3-pointer with 8:29 left made it 22-9.  The Panthers then went on a 9-0 run, capped by a Shelvick Henry free throw, that made it 22-18 three minutes later.

Albany State led by four at halftime, 31-27.  Mitchell quickly cut it to one point with a 3-pointer just after the second half started. His jumper a little over a minute later tied the game at 33-33.  Henry twice hit baskets that gave CAU the lead, first a 3-pointer with 16:04 remaining game the Panthers a 36-35 lead, and then a layup five minutes later to make it 43-42 CAU.

The lead went back and forth until Mitchell hit two free throws with 5:06 left to give Clark Atlanta a 55-51 lead.

But CAU was unable to score the remainder of the game, missing all eight of their remaining shots. ASU's Mario Young had seven points during that span to lead an 11-0 Golden Rams run to take the win.

Clark Atlanta was led by the SIAC's fourth and third leading scorers: Mitchell finished with 19 points, six rebounds, three steals and an assist, while Henry had 18 points, three rebounds, two steals, two blocks and an assist.  Romaine Thomas added seven rebounds, five points, a steal, a block, and two assists.

Young led Albany State with 17 points, four rebounds and two steals.

The Panthers will be back on the court Martin Luther King Jr. Day when they host Fort Valley State University on Monday, Jan. 21 at 8 p.m.  Clark Atlanta will be off until Saturday when they host Atlanta University Center rival Morehouse College at 6 p.m. in L.S Epps Gymnasium.  Their game will be preceded by the Clark Atlanta Lady Panthers game against Carver College at 4 p.m.