FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2-12-01

This Week In Armstrong Atlantic State Athletics

Monday, February 19
• Women's Tennis vs. Augusta State, 1:00 p.m.
• Men's Tennis vs. Augusta State, 1:00 p.m.

Tuesday, February 20
No Events Scheduled

Wednesday, February 21
• Women's Basketball vs. Augusta State, 5:30 p.m.
• Men's Basketball vs. Augusta State, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, February 22
No Events Scheduled

Friday, February 23
• Women's Tennis at Valdosta State, 2:00 p.m.
• Men's Tennis at Valdosta State, 2:00 p.m.

Saturday, February 24
• Women's Tennis vs. West Florida (@ Valdosta, Ga.), 10:00 a.m.
• Men's Tennis vs. West Florida (@ Valdosta, Ga.), 10:00 a.m.
• Baseball vs. Francis Marion, 2:00 p.m.
• Softball vs. Mount Olive, 2:00 p.m.
• Women's Basketball at Clayton College & State, 5:30 p.m.
• Men's Basketball at Clayton College & State, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, February 25
• Baseball vs. Francis Marion (DH), Noon

Men's Basketball (22-5 Overall, 14-0 PBC, No. 22 NABC/DII Bulletin Top 25, No. 4 Region)

The Armstrong Atlantic State men's basketball team continued its winning ways, winning two games on the week and securing the Pirates' second Peach Belt Conference regular season title.

AASU shot 50 percent from the field in Wednesday's 70-62 win over Clayton College & State, holding the Lakers to just 2-of-15 three-pointers and forcing 22 CC&SU turnovers. Junior Mick Jordan, the PBC's leading three-point shooter, hit all four of his three-point tries en route to a team-high 14 points for AASU, while reigning PBC Player of the Week Robert Campbell recorded 13 points and six steals.

The Pirates then defeated USC Spartanburg, 67-62, on Saturday, extending their second-longest current DII winning streak to 15 games and clinching the PBC title. AASU won its second Peach Belt title in the same place as they won their first – in Spartanburg, S.C. On Feb. 18, 1995, AASU defeated USCS 101-85 to clinch the Pirates' first conference

title. Saturday, it was senior guard Robert Campbell who stepped up and delivered the win. Campbell hit for a season-high 27 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the floor, including 2-of-3 three-pointers. His three-pointer with 4:39 left put AASU up, 50-45, and his jumper with 57 seconds left put the Pirates up by six, 58-52. AASU then made 7-of-8 free throws in the final minute to seal the victory, the eighth straight away from home.

With the two wins, AASU moved up to No. 22 in the latest NABC/DII Bulletin Top 25 rankings on Monday.

Coach Mills' squad wraps up the regular season this week with a Wed., Feb. 21 game against North Division-leading Augusta State at 7:30 p.m., then a trip on Sat., Feb. 24 to Clayton State at 7:30 p.m.

Women's Basketball (9-15 Overall, 4-10 PBC)

Coach Hodge's Lady Pirates split two games on the week, losing to Clayton State, 76-51, but rebounding to defeat USC Spartanburg, 73-58.

The Lady Pirates put up a school-record 31 three-point attempts in Wednesday's loss to Clayton State, making just seven (22.6 percent) while the Lady Lakers made 7-of-10 threes in the first half en route to a 36-21 halftime lead and the 25-point victory. Junior guard Lexie Martin again led the Pirates in scoring with 13 points, including 3-of-7 three-pointers, while freshman Nicole Joffrion hit 3-of-6 threes for nine points.

On Saturday, Lady Pirates opened up the game on a 26-9 run and never looked back, snapping a four-game losing streak by defeating the Lady Rifles,. AASU shot 56.6 percent from the floor in winning for just the second time in their past 11 games. USC Spartanburg shot just 36.4 percent for the game and made just one of nine three-point attempts. Sophomore forward Zandrique Cason led the Lady Pirates with 17 points and eight rebounds, while junior Lexie Martin scored 14 points, including 3-of-6 from three-point range.

The Lady Pirates wrap up the regular season this week with a Wed., Feb. 21 game against Augusta State at 5:30 p.m., then a trip on Sat., Feb. 24 to Clayton State at 5:30 p.m.

Baseball (9-3 Overall, 4-2 PBC, No. 26 NCAA Division II Coaches' Poll)

Head coach Joe Roberts' baseball squad dropped two of three games to Lander in Peach Belt Conference action over the weekend.

The Pirates committed six errors, giving up six unearned runs as Lander's Tom Darby hit a grand-slam home run to give the Senators a 6-4 victory in game one on Saturday.

AASU pounded out 15 hits and 15 runs to power past Lander, 15-9, in the first game of Sunday afternoon's doubleheader. The Pirates led 2-0 in the third inning of the first game, then sent 12 men to the plate in a seven-run inning, highlighted by Jason Pruitt's two-RBI double, to take a 9-0 lead. Lander rallied, closing the score to 9-8 with a five-run fifth inning, but the Pirates put the game away with three runs in the bottom of the seventh, keyed by Matt Easterwood's two-RBI single to right center. In the final game of the series, the Senators' Grant Smith outdueled the Pirates' Adam Olejniczak in a 2-1 Lander victory. Smith limited the Pirates to just five hits and one run in seven innings, while Olejniczak gave up seven hits and two runs in seven innings, striking out five.

This week, the Pirates host Francis Marion for a three-game conference series beginning with a single game on Sat, Feb. 24 at 2:00 p.m. and concluding with a doubleheader on Sun., Feb. 25 at Noon.

Men's and Women's Tennis (Women: 4-1, 4-1 PBC; Men: 3-0, 3-0 PBC, No. 7 DII)

The AASU women's tennis team won three of four matches on the week, while the AASU men's team won both of its matches.

Both the men's and women's teams swept Columbus State, 9-0, on Wednesday afternoon in Columbus, then the women's team traveled to the Atlanta area and split two matches, defeating Kennesaw State, 5-1, but losing to Clayton College & State, 5-4. The loss was the first for the Lady Pirates in 56 conference matches, dating back to the 1994 season. The AASU women rebounded with an 8-1 win over USC Aiken on Sunday, while the men also defeated USC Aiken, 9-0.

This week the Pirate tennis teams host Augusta State on Mon., Feb. 19 at 1:00 p.m., then travel to Valdosta State to take on the Blazers on Fri., Feb. 23 at 2:00 p.m. AASU then faces West Florida on Sat., Feb. 24 at 10:00 a.m. at Valdosta State.

Softball (No. 4 NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll)

The AASU softball team, ranked No. 4 in the preseason NFCA Division II Top 25 poll, opens the 2001 season with a doubleheader against Mount Olive on Sat., Feb. 24 at 2:00 p.m.

The Lady Pirates, coming off of a 51-7 season and their first-ever PBC title and NCAA Championships berth, return eight starters, including second-team All-America pitcher Annie Sells. AASU was picked to finish second in the Peach Belt in the preseason, behind No. 2-ranked Kennesaw State, the team that knocked the Lady Pirates out of the NCAA Regionals last season.

- Pirates -