AASU Hosts Spring Hill Suites Midtown New Year's Classic

SAVANNAH, Ga. - The Armstrong Atlantic State men's basketball team wraps up the calendar year by hosting three teams for the 2008 AASU Spring Hill Suites Midtown New Year's Classic on Monday and Tuesday at Alumni Arena.

The Pirates (6-1) and fellow Peach Belt Conference school GCSU (4-1) will face South Atlantic Conference foe Wingate (5-5) and WVIAC school West Virginia Wesleyan (1-6) in two games each day. Wingate takes on GCSU at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, with the Pirates facing West Virginia Wesleyan at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, GCSU faces Wset Virginia Wesleyan in a battle of the Bobcats at 1:00 p.m., with the Pirates taking on Wingate at 3:30 p.m. to wrap up the classic.

AASU is coming in on a two-game win streak after defeating Concordia Selma and Lenoir-Rhyne in the Chatham Orthopedics Holiday Classic prior to Christmas. Junior Dwight Tolbert averaged 17.5 points in the two wins for the Pirates, including hitting six three-pointers en route to 24 points in the win over Concordia Selma. GCSU, meanwhile, is looking to rebound from an 80-68 loss to No. 3 Augusta State. Senior guard Shaun Keaton, who has enjoyed tremendous games in Alumni Arena in his career, enters the tournament just 18 points shy of 1,000 for his career.

West Virginia Wesleyan snapped its season-opening string of six losses with an 84-68 win over Bluefield State in its last action. Justin Caldwell pumped in 25 points for the win and leads the Bobcat offensive attack, averaging 15.4 points per game. Wingate is looking to rebound from two pre-Christmas road losses to Fayetteville State and Barton. The Bulldogs feature a balanced scoring attack with five players averaging 8.2 points or better a game, led by Ben Davis' 11.0 ppg.

This will be the first meeting in school history for AASU and GCSU against West Virginia Wesleyan. GCSU won the only previous matchup the Bobcats have had with Wingate, back during the 1992-93 season, and Wingate holds a 6-1 series lead over the host Pirates, including a 72-68 win in the 2007 NCAA South Atlantic Regional in the latest meeting between the two teams.

Fans can follow along with all the action at the official tournament site (http://aasupirates.com/sports/mbkb/2008-09/shs2008classic) which will include links to live stats and live webcasts of the AASU contests.