FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2-7-04

Men’s College Basketball: AASU 76, USC Aiken 65
Women’s College Basketball: No. 20 AASU 67, USC Aiken 54

SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Armstrong Atlantic State basketball squads swept a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader from visiting USC Aiken on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Arena. The No. 20-ranked Lady Pirates pushed their home winning streak to 10 with a 67-54 victory, while the Pirates took a 76-65 win over the Pacers.

The Lady Pirates (17-4, 8-2 PBC) launched 11 three-pointers and held off a second-half rally by the Lady Pacers (11-9, 3-6 PBC) to remain a game up in the Peach Belt Conference South Division standings with the 13-point win. AASU led by six at halftime, 30-24, behind eight points from senior Marloes Renskers, then stretched their second-half lead to 14 points, 52-38, on two free throws from freshman Meghan Jones. USC Aiken battled back, however, and cut the lead to five on a Lana Mandic layup with 4:09 remaining. Two scoreless minutes ensued, and a big possession saw the Lady Pirates create a turnover by Sarah Kendrick and turn it into a three-point basket by Vandy Noldon for a five-point swing that put the Lady Pirates up by eight, 62-54, with 2:19 remaining. USC Aiken never threatened afterwards as they got 17 points and seven steals from Tasha Washington and 13 points from Noldon in the win. USC Aiken got 16 points and 12 rebounds from Benazura Serbecic and 14 points from Lana Mandic.

In the men’s contest, senior Jason Sanders connected on 5-of-6 shots from the floor, including 4-of-4 three-pointers, for 16 first-half points to keep AASU (15-6, 6-4 PBC) within three points of halftime of USC Aiken (8-12, 2-7 PBC). The Pacers shot 53 percent in the first half, but the Pirates turned up the defense and held USC Aiken to just 35 percent shooting in the second half, including 1-of-7 three-pointers. After USC Aiken tied the game, 49-49, on a three-pointer by Lee Burton with 11:08 left, the Pirates went on a 9-2 run to take charge of the game and cruise to the 11-point win. Sanders finished the game with a career-high 25 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor and 5-of-6 shooting from three-point range, while senior Justin added 13 points. USC Aiken was led by Burton’s 17 points.

AASU returns to action on Wednesday as they travel to North Florida for a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader at 5:30 p.m. (women) and 7:30 p.m. (men) in Jacksonville, Fla.

-Pirates-