FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 11-16-05

Men's College Basketball: AASU 68, Queens (NC) 62

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Armstrong Atlantic State men's basketball team made a winner out of point guard William Kane in his return to Queens University of Charlotte on Wednesday evening as the Pirates defeated the Royals, 68-62, in both team's 2005-06 season opener at "The Oven" in Charlotte.

Kane, who played as a freshman for the Royals last season, had the exclamation point in the win as his three-pointer with the shot clock close to zero capped a 19-4 second-half run, putting the Pirates (1-0) up, 57-48, with 6:41 remaining. The run was needed as Queens (0-1) had opened up its largest lead of the contest, a six-point 44-38 advantage, with 13:30 left in the contest.

The Pirates built a seven-point lead in the early stages of the game, 22-15, with 7:00 left in the first half, but endured a 12-2 run by the Royals late in the half to enter halftime with a 30-29 advantage. Senior Alex Carter led all scorers in the first half with nine points on 4-of-9 shooting from the floor and seven rebounds.

Kane finished the contest with nine points and seven assists for the Pirates. Sophomore Jamaal Galloway came off the bench to register 13 second-half points en route to 15 points, tying for the team high with Carter, who also registered 15 points to go with his 11 rebounds. Junior Bryan Taylor also added a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds.

Shamoni Faulkner led all scorers for Queens with 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor, while Chris Jones added 11 points - all in the second half - and Esau Eatman added 10 points and nine rebounds.

AASU will stay in the Queen City as they compete in the Wendy's TipOff Classic at Johnson C. Smith University on Friday, November 18, and Saturday, November 19. The Pirates will take on Shaw on Friday at 6:00 p.m. in its first action in the Classic.

-Pirates-