FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1-19-05

Men's College Basketball: No. 9 Kennesaw State 52, AASU 50
Women's College Basketball: AASU 74, Kennesaw State 70

SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Armstrong Atlantic State men’s basketball team let a late six-point lead slip away against No. 9-ranked and defending DII National Champion Kennesaw State on Wednesday evening at Alumni Arena, falling 52-50 to the Owls. The AASU women halted its brief two-game slide in the earlier matchup with the Lady Owls, defeating Kennesaw State for the eighth straight time, 74-70.

The Lady Pirates (13-6, 3-2 PBC) opened up the contest with a quick 8-2 lead and lead for the first 14 minutes of the game, but Kennesaw State (9-6, 1-3 PBC) charged back behind 10 first-half points from little-used guard D.J. Galbiati to take a two-point lead at halftime, 33-31. KSU extended that lead to six, 65-59, on a three-pointer by Malgorzata Morka with 7:07 left in the contest, but a 7-0 run by the Lady Pirates brought AASU back into the game. With the score tied at 68-all, senior Briana Milam canned a three-pointer with 3:39 left in the contest and the Lady Pirates held the Lady Owls scoreless over the final 2:30 to come away with the victory, the eighth straight in the series for AASU dating back to 2001-02.

Audosha Kelley led all players with a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds, while senior Ramona Wright added 13 points. Morka led the Owls with 17 points, while Galbiati finished the game with 13 points. AASU outrebounded the Lady Owls, 51-42, and KSU had to play the final 12 minutes without leading scorer Shavonder Clarke, who fouled out of the game with 10 points and five rebounds on a technical foul.

The men’s game was a tough battle between the Pirates (11-5, 3-2 PBC) and the No. 9-ranked Owls (13-2, 3-1 PBC) and at first, the Owls looked to have command behind a big first half from senior Cardale Talley. Talley hit 7-of-10 shots from the floor for 14 first-half points as the Owls took a two-point lead, 32-30, into intermission. In the second half, the Pirates fought back and eventually took the lead, 44-42, on Alex Carter’s three free throws with 10:43 remaining. AASU would extend the lead to six, 50-44, as Lorenzo Lawrence made two of three throws with 4:32 left in the ballgame and it looked like the Pirates would hand Kennesaw State – winners of 18 straight league games before last Saturday – back-to-back PBC losses.

But the defense of the Owls clamped down and forced four turnovers and six missed shots in the final four and a half minutes, while Kennesaw State’s Tommy Thompson hit a free throw that broke a 50-all tie with 50 seconds left to put the Owls ahead to stay. Jamaal Galloway’s desperation three with six seconds left fell short as the Pirates fell for the first time at home in 2004-05.

Talley finished the game with 17 points to lead the Owls, while Thompson chipped in 12 points and six assists. Lorenzo Lawrence led the Pirates with 17 points and Alex Carter chipped in 16 points. AASU held the PBC’s top-scoring team to nearly 30 points below its season average (80.6) as Kennesaw State scored a season-low 52 points, but hitting just 12-of-22 free throws and turning the ball over 16 times kept the Pirates from the upset.

The Pirates and Lady Pirates next travel to Lander for PBC doubleheader action on Saturday, January 22, at 5:30 p.m. (women) and 7:30 p.m. (men) in Greenwood, S.C.

-Pirates-