FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 3-4-01

AASU Men's Basketball Earns NCAA Championships At-Large Bid

SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Armstrong Atlantic State men's basketball team received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championships on Sunday evening, just their second trip to the NCAA DII Championships ever and their first trip since 1994-95.

The Pirates (25-7), who tied a school record with 25 wins and won their second Peach Belt Conference title with a 15-1 league mark, are the No. 5 seed in the South Atlantic Regional and will face the No. 4-seed, Wingate in a first-round contest at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 8 at Johnson C. Smith in Charlotte, N.C. The winner will face the No. 1 seed in the second round, Johnson C. Smith.

PBC Tournament champion Augusta State is the No. 6 seed and will face the No. 3 seed, Catawba, in a first-round contest at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday with the winner taking on the No. 2 seed, Johnson C. Smith, in the second round.

The Pirates and Wingate have played once this season with the Bulldogs winning, 83-73, on Dec. 23. Immediately following that game, AASU went on its school-record 16-game winning streak. AASU split two games with Augusta State this season and did not face any of the other three regional teams this year.

In AASU's only other NCAA Division II regional appearance, the Pirates hosted a first-round game against Morehouse on March 7, 1995, winning 78-70. AASU then advanced to the South Regional in Huntsville, Ala., and was eliminated by Tampa, 65-59, on March 10, 1995.

- Pirates -