FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 1-2-03

Men's College Basketball: AASU 50, Francis Marion 48
Women's College Basketball: AASU 81, Francis Marion 48

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Junior Brian Bain's three-point shot with 3:24 remaining in the second half put the Armstrong Atlantic State men's basketball team ahead by one, 47-46, and the Pirates held on for a hard-fought 50-48 win over Francis Marion in Peach Belt Conference basketball action at Alumni Arena on Thursday evening. The win completed a doubleheader sweep of the Patriots as AASU's women's squad improved to 8-1 on the year with an 81-48 win over the Lady Patriots.

The Patriots (5-4, 0-2 PBC) outshot the Pirates (2-7, 1-1 PBC) from the floor en route to a two-point halftime lead, 27-25, but could not hit from long distance, shooting just 1-of-6 from three-point range in the first half and only 2-of-15 for the game. Still, the Patriots never let the homestanding Pirates take the lead in the second half until Bain's three-pointer - his only one of the game - put AASU up by one. Senior Dave Pisarcik stretched the lead to four by hitting three-of-four free throws over the next two minutes, and Francis Marion - after getting two free throws from Jarron Hinton to cut the lead to two with 40 seconds remaining - saw Michael Jenkins' game-winning three-point attempt hit off the front rim as time expired. The win gave head coach Jeff Burkhamer his first Peach Belt Conference win at AASU. Junior Daryl Williams led all players with 18 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double as a Pirate, while Pisarcik chipped in 16 points. Francis Marion was led by Randy Williams' 16 points and Jaquan Bracey's 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Armstrong Atlantic State women's team continued its hot start by dispatching the Patriots, 81-48, holding Francis Marion to just 30 percent shooting from the field and forcing 35 turnovers.AASU (8-1, 2-0 PBC) rolled out its largest-scoring first half of the season in collecting 48 points and leading by 25 at halftime, 48-23, then cruising to the victory. Francis Marion (5-4, 0-2 PBC) was held without a basket for the first eight minutes of the game and went just 3-of-12 from three-point range. The Lady Pirates - who start 2-0 in the league for just the second time in school history (1996-97) - were led by junior Emily Perpich's 19 points off of the bench and junior Tishay Lewis' 18 points. Senior Zandrique Cason chipped in 15 points and is just 16 points away from becoming the seventh player in AASU history to record 1,000 career points. Francis Marion was led by Jontell Johnson's 14 points and seven rebounds.

The AASU men's and women's teams are next in action on Saturday, January 4 in Greenwood, S.C., as they take on Lander University. Game times are 5:30 p.m. for the men and 7:30 p.m. for the women.

- Pirates -