FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 11-19-05

Men's College Basketball: AASU 75, Carson-Newman 70

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Armstrong Atlantic State men's basketball team completed a season-opening stay in the Queen City by knocking off Carson-Newman, 75-70, in the Johnson C. Smith Wendy's TipOff Classic on Saturday evening, improving to 3-0 on the young season.

The Pirates' win did not come easy, however. Despite leading most of the contest, AASU watched Carson-Newman hit three-pointers on four straight possessions in the second half to take a 50-47 lead with 9:48 left in the contest. The Pirates responded with an 11-2 run to take a 58-52 lead with 6:44 remaining. The Eagles (1-2) cut it to three, but Bryan Taylor scored on back-to-back possessions to to give the Pirates a two-possession lead, 69-64, with 1:17 left. The Pirates then made 6-of-8 free throws in the final 40 seconds to secure the victory.

The Pirates took a 32-29 lead into intermission by shooting 50 percent from the floor (13-of-26), including 4-of-11 three-pointers. AASU committed 10 turnovers in the first half, however, allowing the Eagles to keep it close. Andrew Johnson of Carson-Newman led all scorers in the first half with 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor.

Bryan Taylor notched 21 points before fouling out with :38.1 seconds remaining, while Alex Carter chipped in 12 points and freshman Kevin Parker notched nine on three-of-five three-point shooting. Johnson led the Eagles with 17 points in the contest, while Kente Hart added 11 points. The Pirates hit 51.9 percent for the game from the floor (27-of-52) in the victory.

The Pirates return to action on Saturday, September 26, as they travel to Tifton, Ga., for a neutral-site matchup with Fort Valley State at 7:00 p.m. at Tift County High School.

-Pirates-