FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 1-29-03

Men's Basketball: GC&SU 72, AASU 59

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. (January 29) - Georgia College & State University jumped out to a 34-28 halftime lead and held on for a 72-59 Peach Belt Conference men's basketball victory over Armstrong Atlantic State at the Centennial Center on Wednesday evening.

The Bobcats (9-7, 6-4 PBC) and the Pirates (6-11, 5-5 PBC) combined for a good-shooting first half, but GC&SU put some distance between themselves and the Pirates by ending the first half on a 10-4 run to go up by six at the half. AASU hit 11-of-19 shots from the floor, 57.9 percent, while GC&SU hit 13-of-29 shots for 44.8 percent.

In the second half, the Bobcats would lead by as many as 10, but the Pirates would eventually cut the lead to two, 54-52, on a three- pointer by Daryl Williams with 5:59 remaining. That would be as
close as the Pirates would get as the Bobcats would extend their lead back to nine on a Rodney Keener jumper with 4:01 remaining and hold on for the victory.

Williams led the Pirates with a game-high 21 points, while freshman Reggie Vilcean scored a career-high 12 points in his first double-digit scoring game for AASU. Keener led the Bobcats with 18 points, while Roosevelt Whitney added 16 points.

The Pirates will be next in action on Saturday, February 1, at UNC Pembroke in a 7:30 p.m. matchup.

- Pirates -