Men: No. 9 USC Aiken 76, AASU 67; Women: AASU 77, USC Aiken 65

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2-2-08

Men’s Basketball: No. 9 USC Aiken 76, AASU 67
Women’s Basketball: AASU 77, USC Aiken 65

SAVANNAH, Ga. (February 2) – No. 9-ranked USC Aiken opened the second half on a 10-0 run en route to a 76-67 Peach Belt Conference men’s basketball victory, earning a doubleheader split with host Armstrong Atlantic State on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Arena. The Lady Pirates picked up a 77-65 win over USC Aiken in the day’s first action.

The first-place Pacers (17-2, 11-1 PBC) and the Pirates (11-7, 5-6 PBC) played a good-shooting first half, going into intermission tied at 41-all as both teams hit better than 50 percent from the floor and 40 percent from three-point range. USC Aiken then started the second half with scores on four straight possessions, including three-pointers by Chris Commons and Kingsley Ogushi, to build a 51-41 lead after the first three minutes. The Pirates cut the lead to three, 65-62, on a Bobby Ancrum layup with 4:30 left, but the Pacers closed out the win by going nine of 10 from the free throw line.

Jeremy Fears led all players on the night for the Pacers with 20 points, while Commons added 18 points and Ogushi and Cordaryl Ballard each chipped in 11. Senior Jamaal Galloway led the Pirates with 13 points, while T.T. Hall scored 12 points and William Kane added 11.

In the women’s game, junior Alandris Griffin scored a season-high 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor in leading the Lady Pirates (11-7, 5-6 PBC) to the 12-point win over the Lady Pacers (12-6, 6-6 PBC). Griffin led a quartet of AASU players in double figures as Lacey Willis notched 16 points off the bench, senior Kaneetha Gordon added 14 points and Lindsey Holmes notched 11.

Gordon also reached another rmilestone on the day by collecting four rebounds, giving the all-time leading rebounder in school history 1,000 career boards. Gordon is just the fourth player in Peach Belt Conference history to reach the 1,000 rebounding mark, joining Christale Spain of USC Aiken, Chiffonia Adderson of Francis Marion and Skye Barber of North Florida.

The Pirates return to action on Monday, February 4, with a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader at Francis Marion, beginning with the women’s contest at 5:30 p.m.

- Pirates -