Romaine Thomas had 21 points and 13 rebounds as Clark Atlanta grabbed the lead midway through the first half and held it the rest of the way in defeating Savannah State 69-61 Thursday in Savannah.

The win for Clark Atlanta (12-14, 12-6 SIAC) allowed them to keep pace with Albany State in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference East Division race.  CAU is in second, just percentage points behind Albany State as the regular season winds down.  CAU has one game remaining while Albany State (12-5 SIAC) still has to play Benedict and Morehouse. 

Thursday, Savannah State (9-12, 9-9 SIAC) kept things close early, leading 17-16 after a Marcus Scott layup with 8:46 left in the half.   But a CAU 9-2 run erased that deficit and put them ahead by six at 25-19 after a Justin Longstreet free throw with 3:45 remaining before halftime.

CAU led by four at halftime, but Savannah State closed to within one five minutes into the second half after Avery Joyner's free throw. 

Ten minutes later, CAU had finished off a 23-12 run that gave them a 12-point lead on Andrew Stewart's 3-pointer with 5:04 remaining making it 60-48.   Clark Atlanta maintained the lead to close out the win.

The Panthers forced 13 turnovers, resulting in 20 points.  CAU also hit 44 percent of their shots along with seven 3-pointers.

Thomas, the SIAC's Men's Player of the Week, had his fourteenth double-double of the season.  He also had three blocks and four assists. Colin Bell and Stewart each had 12 points, with Bell adding five rebounds. Justin Longstreet and Shannon Smith each added seven points, with Smith also dishing seven assists.

Scott led Savannah State with 18 points, while Trey Deloach had 15 and Joyner finished with 13.

CAU will close out the regular season Tuesday, Feb. 25 when they go to Fort Valley State.  They then will get ready for the SIAC Men's Basketball Tournament in Rock Hill, S.C. which begins on Monday, March 2.