FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 12-6-99

Fort Valley State Clips Armstrong Atlantic State, 67-65

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Jonathan Nelson's jumper with eight seconds remaining gave the Fort Valley State Wildcats at 67-65 men's college basketball victory over the host Armstrong Atlantic State Pirates on Monday evening at the Armstrong Sports Center.

Nelson's jumper came off of a rebound from his own missed shot, giving the Wildcats (3-1) the two-point lead. A last-second out of bounds play led to a failed tip-in by Robert Campbell at the buzzer that would have tied it for the Pirates (2-4), who dropped their third straight game.

Fort Valley State led by three at halftime, but the Pirates came back and led by six with four minutes remaining. After a time out, however, the Wildcats reeled off seven straight points in less than a minute on a three-pointer by Juan McGee and two consecutive steals and layups by Milan Henry. The Wildcats stretched the lead to three with one minute remaining on a Henry layup, but Mick Jordan's three-pointer with 19 seconds left tied the game at 65-all and set the stage for Nelson's game-winner.

Junior Tavares Brown led the Pirates with 15 points, while junior Greg Favors scored 12 points and added 14 rebounds. Nelson led the Wildcats in scoring with 15 points, while Henry chipped in 13 points. AASU shot 45 percent from the floor, but also turned the ball over 34 times, the third straight game in which the Pirates have given the ball away 30 or more times.

AASU opens up its conference slate on Saturday, Dec. 11 at Kennesaw State in a 4 p.m. matchup.

- Pirates -