FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 11-29-03

Men's College Basketball: No. 25 Eckerd 80, AASU 73

SAVANNAH, Ga. – The No. 25-ranked Eckerd College Tritons unleased a barrage of first-half threes, then withstood a furious second-half charge by the visiting Armstrong Atlantic State Pirates to win, 80-73, in the final game of the 2003 Neader Group Classic in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The Tritons (4-3) handed the Pirates (5-1) their first loss of the season while winning their second straight. Eckerd hit 58 percent of its shots from the floor (31-of-53) in the victory.

In the first half, Eckerd hit 8-of-12 three-pointers to build a 45-33 halftime lead over the Pirates, who failed to connect on a three-pointer in the half. After intermission, however, the Pirates rallied back and cut the lead to four on several occasions, the last coming at 72-68 with 4:11 remaining in the contest on a George Bush offensive tip-in. Eckerd held the Pirates without a bucket over the final 2:11 to come away with the victory. AASU fell to 0-7 all-time against the Tritons with the loss.

Senior Daryl Williams led all scorers for AASU with 27 points, while senior Brian Bain added 20 points and senior Scott Mattingly chipped in 10. Eckerd placed four players in double figures, led by Sharrod McCree's 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-4 three-pointers.

AASU will be next in action on Tuesday, December 2, as it hosts Paine College at 7:30 p.m. at Alumni Arena.

-Pirates-