RICHMOND, Va. – The No.
20-ranked Armstrong Atlantic men's basketball season came to a
close with a 73-67 loss to Presbyterian in the first round of the
2006 South Atlantic Regional at the Arthur Ashe Center in
Richmond, Va., on Saturday afternoon.FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 3-11-06
NCAA South Atlantic Regional Men's College Basketball: Presbyterian 73, No. 20 AASU 67
RICHMOND, Va. – The No.
20-ranked Armstrong Atlantic men's basketball season came to a
close with a 73-67 loss to Presbyterian in the first round of the
2006 South Atlantic Regional at the Arthur Ashe Center in
Richmond, Va., on Saturday afternoon.
The Pirates (23-8) could never get on track from the field against the Blue Hose (25-9), starting slowly by hitting just eight of 27 shots from the floor in the first half for 29.6 percent. Yet a 10-for-12 performance from the free throw line had AASU leading at halftime, 27-26. Presbyterian shot just 37.5 percent in the first half as well.
The teams played evenly for the first nine minutes of the second half as a Tory Harris free throw tied the game at 14-all with 11:13 remaining, but an 8-0 run by the Blue Hose gave Presbyterian a 49-41 lead with 9:40 left in the contest. AASU was able to cut the lead to two on Jamaal Galloway's free throw with 6:00 left, but tow consecutive three-pointers over the next minute and a breakaway layup by Johann Collins with 4:38 left stretched the lead to 10, 60-50, and the Blue Hose never looked back.
The loss was the fifth consecutive loss in NCAA regional play for the Pirates, dating back to 1995, and dropped AASU's record in the NCAA postseason to 2-8.
Bryan Taylor led all scorers for the Pirates with a career high-tying 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the floor, as well as 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season. Tory Harris added 12 points, all in the second half. Sean Dixon led the Blue Hose in scoring with 16 points, while Johann Collins added a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out in the last minute.
AASU finishes the 2005-06 season with the third-most school wins in school history and setting new season marks in three-point baskets made (229) and attempted (587). The Pirates lose just one senior from this season's squad, Alex Carter, who finished his career with 684 points and 342 rebounds in 60 games played.
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