FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2-9-05

Men's Basketball: North Florida 72, AASU 68
Women's Basketball: AASU 64, North Florida 44

SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Armstrong Atlantic State basketball squads split a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader with rival North Florida on Wednesday evening at Alumni Arena. The AASU women came away with a big 64-44 win over the Lady Ospreys, while the North Florida men picked up its sixth win in its last seven games with a 72-68 victory over the Pirates.

The Ospreys (11-14, 6-5 PBC) used a 7-0 run in the last 4:30 of the first half to open up a 35-28 halftime lead over the Pirates (13-9, 5-6 PBC), then extended that lead to 11 points, 52-41, on a Chris Timberlake jump shot with 12:55 remaining in the second half. AASU broke out for a 13-0 run over the next four and a half minutes to take a 54-52 lead on Jamal Galloway’s offensive rebound and basket at the 8:17 mark. It was nip and tuck for the next four minutes until the Pirates turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions, resulting in three straight UNF baskets for a 64-58 lead with 3:36 left. AASU cut it to two points on two other occasions, but could not get any closer.

Senior Lorenzo Lawrence ignited for 30 points to lead all scorers, 22 in the second half as the Jacksonville native went 10-for-16 from the floor, including 4-of-6 three-pointers. It was Lawrence’s second 30-point output this season, his other coming against Mars Hill on Nov. 23. Galloway chipped in 12 points for the Pirates off the bench, while North Florida was led by Derrick Scott’s 18 points and Donny Lotz and David Ashwell’s 12 points apiece.

The AASU women (16-9, 6-5 PBC) snapped a modest two-game slide by holding the Lady Ospreys to just 29.5 percent shooting from the floor and just 1-of-13 from three-point range in picking up a 20-point win, the largest win for AASU in the series between the two teams. Audosha Kelley and Jasmine Herron led a balanced Lady Pirate scoring attack with 12 points apiece, while North Florida (9-13, 3-8 PBC) was led by Brittany Davis, who scored 11 points before leaving the contest with a knee injury. UNF turned the ball over 30 times in the loss and had their second-lowest scoring output of the season.

AASU returns to action on Sat, Feb. 12, as the Pirates and Lady Pirates host Columbus State for a PBC doubleheader against the Cougars at 2:00 p.m. (women) and 4:00 p.m. (men).

-Pirates-