FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2-7-00

This Week In Armstrong Atlantic State Athletics

Monday, February 7
No Events Scheduled

Tuesday, February 8
No Events Scheduled

Wednesday, February 9
• Women's Tennis at Flagler, 2:30 p.m.

Thursday, February 10
No Events Scheduled

Friday, February 11
No Events Scheduled

Saturday, February 12
• Women's Tennis vs. Lander, 9:00 a.m.
• Baseball at Augusta State, 2:00 p.m.
• Men's Tennis at Flagler, 2:30 p.m.
• Women's Tennis vs. Clayton College & State, 3:00 p.m.
• Women's Basketball at USC Aiken, 5:30 p.m.
• Men's Basketball at USC Aiken, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, February 13
• Baseball at Augusta State (DH), 12:30 p.m.

Men's Basketball (11-10 Overall; 8-3 PBAC)

The Pirate men's basketball team picked up two more key wins this week, winning at North Florida, 83-75, and at home against Columbus State, 87-82.

In Jacksonville, the Pirates trailed by nine points with just over four minutes remaining, but key plays from Robert Campbell and David Koncul and a record-breaking night at the free throw line gave AASU the eight-point victory. Koncul scored a career-high 27 points from the floor and hit an AASU record-tying 14 of 14 free throws, while Campbell scored 22 points and hit 8-of-8 from the free throw line. In all, AASU hit 28 of 30 free throws (93.3 percent), setting a new Peach Belt Athletic Conference record.

On Saturday, the Pirates shot a sparkling 58 percent from the floor as AASU won its fourth game in a row, defeating Columbus State, 87-82. Campbell scored 23 points and dished out a career-high 13 assists, while Cyrille Mainnemarre added a game-high 25 points and Greg Favors scored 19 points and pulled down 16 rebounds.

Junior Robert Campbell, who averaged 22.5 points and 9.0 assists on the week, was named the Peach Belt Athletic Conference's Player of the Week for his efforts this past week. Campbell joins Greg Favors as the Pirates' Player of the Week honorees so far during the 1999-2000 season.

This week, the Pirates play just one game, at USC Aiken on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Women's Basketball (5-16 Overall; 2-9 PBAC)

The Lady Pirates capped a 17-point second-half comeback on Saturday afternoon to defeat Columbus State, 77-75, on Lexie Martin's last-second jump shot to pick up their second PBAC win of the season.

Martin, who scored a career-high 26 points on the evening, hit the game-winning shot with just under four seconds left to break a 75-all tie. Duanda Ball added 20 points for the Lady Pirates, who beat Columbus State for the first time since the 1996-97 season.

Earlier in the week, AASU played at North Florida. With 4:37 left, the Lady Pirates were down by 17 points to the Lady Ospreys, 55-38, and had made just one field goal in seven minutes. AASU went on a 11-0 run, however, and cut the North Florida lead to just four, 57-53, with 39 seconds remaining, but could not come up with any more big shots, losing by six, 60-54.

AASU travels to Aiken, S.C., for its only game of the week against the Lady Pacers on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 5:30 p.m.

Baseball (5-0, No. 15 – Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division II Coaches' Top 25)

Head coach Joe Roberts' No. 15-ranked AASU baseball team opened its season successfully with a doubleheader sweep of St. Andrews on Tuesday, defeating the Knights, 11-0 and 8-2.

The Pirates then followed up the doubleheader sweep with a three-game sweep of Mars Hill over the weekend. AASU won the first game, 11-3, then came back from an 11-2 deficit in the fifth inning of the second game to down the Lions, 12-11, in the second game. Sunday, senior Joey Williams shut down the Lions on five hits in a complete-game shutout effort, blanking Mars Hill, 4-0.

Junior second baseman Haydn Chinn leads the team early on in hitting, batting .467 with two home runs and five RBI. Junior first baseman Brian Pickel also has two home runs and Williams has sparkled on the mound, hurling 15 scoreless innings en route to his 2-0 record.

This week, the Pirates travel to Augusta to open up their Peach Belt Athletic Conference season with a three-game set against the Jaguars. AASU and Augusta State play a single game at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 12, then a doubleheader on Sunday, Feb. 13, beginning at 12:30 p.m.

Men's & Women's Tennis (No. 3 (W), No. 4 (M) - NCAA Division II Coaches' Poll)

The AASU men's and women's tennis teams both dropped hard-fought 5-4 decisions to NCAA Division I foe Winthrop on Saturday afternoon at the Pirate Tennis Complex.

The Pirate men's squad lost their No. 1 player, Blaise Tribolet, during the doubles competition to injury, forcing AASU to move players up in its lineup. Freshman Nickolay Nesterov took Winthrop's J.P. Rezende to three sets, losing in the third-set tiebreak to determine the match.

The women picked up wins at 1-3 singles and at No. 1 doubles against the Lady Eagles but could not come up with another point to take the match.

This week, both teams will play matches at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Fla. – the women on Wednesday, Feb. 9 and the men on Sat., Feb. 12. The AASU women will also host their PBAC-opening matches on Saturday, Feb. 12 at the Pirate Tennis Complex, taking on Lander and Clayton College & State.

- Pirates -