FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1-31-07

Men's Basketball: No. 21 Augusta State 77, AASU 53

AUGUSTA, Ga. – No. 21-ranked Augusta State maintained its hold on first place in the Peach Belt Conference with a convincing 77-53 victory over visiting Armstrong Atlantic State on Wednesday evening.

Augusta State (17-3, 9-0 PBC) used an 8-0 run to snap a 31-all tie in the early stages of the second half, building a 39-31 lead with 14:56 left and never looking back in winning its 11th straight at home. The Pirates (14-6, 5-4 PBC) shot just 26.7 percent from the field in the second half and 33.9 for the game, while the Jaguars once again blistered the Pirates from beyond the arc, hitting 5 of 8 threes in the second half and 7 of 17 for the game.

Right before halftime, the Pirates converted on an out-of-bounds play as Bryan Taylor hit a layup as time expired to tie the game at 29-all. Taylor and Patrick Sanou combined for 17 of the Pirates' 29 points in the first half.

Taylor led the Pirates with 14 points on the night, while Sanou added 12. Bowman, the Peach Belt's leading scorer, led all players with 21 points on the night to go with 12 rebounds. Ben Madgen added 15 for the Jaguars.

AASU returns to action on Saturday, February 3, with a 7:30 p.m. Peach Belt matchup at USC Aiken.

- Pirates -