FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1-13-07

College Basketball: No. 20 AASU 75, Francis Marion 60

Release Courtesy of Francis Marion Sports Information

FLORENCE, S.C. – Junior guard Jamaal Galloway tallied 10 of his 13 points on a trio of three-pointers late in the second half to help 20th-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State University pull away for a 75-60 win over Francis Marion University, Saturday night (Jan. 13) in Peach Belt Conference men’s basketball action.

Senior forward Bryan Taylor, playing near his hometown of Timmonsville, S.C., paced the Pirates (12-3, 3-1) with 19 points (on 8-of-12 shooting) and 11 rebounds. Guard Tory Harris added 12 points and Josh Geyer 10 for AASU.

Senior forward Raymond Dorsey again led FMU (3-10, 0-4) with 15 points and eight rebounds, while 5-7 freshman guard Cortne’ Baker scored 12 points and senior guard Dominic Bishop added 11. The Patriots dropped their ninth straight game.

The first half was tightly contested with four ties and four lead changes. The Patriots trailed by only one at intermission, 30-29, following two Baker free throws with seven ticks left.

A three-pointer by Geyer gave AASU a 36-29 advantage only two minutes into the second stanza. However, Francis Marion responded with a 10-2 run to take a 39-38 lead, the squad’s first second-half lead in five games. A layup by Dorsey off a pass from Larnelle Peterson capped the run. Geyer then contributed two baskets to a 7-0 run that gave AASU the lead for good.

Francis Marion stayed close though, and after a fast-break layup by Bishop with 9:05 left, the Patriots trailed by only three at 48-45. Immediately after Bishop’s basket, AASU’s Nick Bloemhof was called for a technical foul, but Bishop missed both free throws. Galloway then ignited a 16-6 spurt with the first of three three-point baskets in the run. He was fouled on his third bucket and completed the rare four-point play to give the Pirates a commanding 64-51 margin with 5:46 remaining.

The AASU bench contributed 34 points, including 28 of the team’s 45 second-half total.

- Pirates -