FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 2-12-00

Men's Basketball: AASU 74, USC Aiken 61
Women's Basketball: USC Aiken 87, AASU 76

Courtesy USC Aiken Sports Information

AIKEN, SC - The Pirates of Armstrong Atlantic State University (12-10, 9-3 PBAC) came into the Courthouse on homecoming and torched the USC Aiken Pacers (12-9, 4-8) shooting 61.7 percent (29-of-47) from the field en route to the 74-61 conference win.

The Pacers struggled to find their shooting touch all night, hitting only 18-of-52 from the field for 34.6 percent. Senior Corey Faggins came off the USCA bench to lead all scorers with 17 points on 4-of-11 from the three-point line.

USCA spotted the Pirates a 6-0 lead in the first two minutes before Chris Robinson stole a David Koncul pass and converted the pull-up jumper. AASU lead by as many as 15 in the first half before the Pacers used an 8-2 run to close the half and cut the lead to 36-29 at the break. Areon Atkinson scored 10 of his 13 points in the first 20 minutes on 3-of-6 from downtown.

With 15:32 showing on the clock in the second half, Faggins drained a three-pointer to cut the AASU lead to five at 42-37, but that would be as close as the Pacers would get. AASU would lead by as many as 16 in the second half.

Robinson was the third Pacer in double figures in scoring with 14 to go with his game-high 10 rebounds. It was Robinson's sixth double-double of the season. The point guard duo of Dain Brown and Eric Dugans each dished out five of USCA's 15 assists, the team's most in their last 12 games.

Robert Campbell's 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting and six assists led the Pirates. Cyrille Mainnemarre chipped in 15 points while Koncul was the third Pirate in double figures with 13. Greg Favors pulled down 10 rebounds to go with four points.

USCA will travel to PBAC North Division leading Lander University on Wednesday, February 16 for a 7:30 PM match-up. AASU will play at Clayton State on Wednesday in a 7:30 PM tip-off.

In women's action: The USC Aiken Lady Pacers (15-7, 7-5 PBAC) shot 52.8 percent from the field and out rebounded the visiting Armstrong Atlantic State University Lady Pirates (5-17, 2-10 PBAC) 39-30 in cruising to the 87-76 win at homecoming Saturday night in Aiken.

USCA won their second-straight game and the sixth in their last eight PBAC games to officially clinch a spot in the PBAC Tournament. Only the top four teams in each division make the tournament whose champion will be guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The win improves the Lady Pacers' record at the Courthouse this season to 8-1 as second-year head coach Phil Stern picked up his 50th career victory.

The Lady Pacers trailed early, but two free throws by Allison Nold at the 15:17 mark of the first half would give USCA the lead that they would never relinquish. USCA led by as many as 14 in the first half before settling on a 41-31 half-time advantage. Nold scored 10 of her 18 points in the first half on 3-of-6 from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. The Lady Pacers were 10-of-12 from the free throw line in the first half.

In the second half, USCA shot a blistering 60.0 percent from the field (15-of-25) to push the bulge to 25 with 10:26 to play, but a late rally by the Lady Pirates would close the gap to only six with 0:48 showing on the clock. AASU made 21 trips to the free throw line in the final 20 minutes, but converted only 14 into points (66.7 percent).

Jami Cornwell led the Lady Pacers with 22 points and was 3-of-4 from long range. Cornwell also dished out a game-high six of USCA's 19 assists and grabbed six rebounds. Janell Gerk chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds. Nold pulled down a team-high nine boards to go with her 18 points and Telma Ferreira was the fourth Lady Pacer in double figures with 10. In her first game back after missing 10 games with a foot injury, Jen Schwachenwald scored seven points in seven minutes of action.

Dorthell Little came off the Lady Pirate bench to pour in 21 points on 9-of-12 from the charity stripe and grab a team-high seven rebounds. Duanda Ball shared game-high scoring honors with Cornwell in scoring 22. The Lady Pirates shot 43.3 percent from the field and managed only nine assists to 15 turnovers.

USCA will travel to Lander University on Wednesday, February 16 for a 5:30 PM showdown. AASU will play at Clayton State on Wednesday in a 5:30 PM start.

- Pirates -