No. 18 Pirates Hold Off Bearcats, 65-62

GREENWOOD, S.C. - The No. 18-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State men's basketball team held off a tough Lander squad in picking up a 65-62 Peach Belt Conference victory over the Bearcats on Saturday afternoon in Greenwood, S.C. The win is the fourth straight for the Pirates.

AASU (14-2, 7-2 PBC) blocked nine shots in the victory and nursed a one-point lead for the final three minutes against the Bearcats (8-7, 4-5 PBC). Lander has now dropped five of its last six in league play after starting the Peach Belt season, 3-0.

The Pirates led, 61-60, with 3:18 left to play, but two Gabriel Robinson free throw stretched the lead out to three, 63-60, with 1:48 left. Brian Moultrie blocked a shot by Greg Smalls, the ninth block of the game for AASU, but a turnover by the Pirates led by Houston Wright's basket with 1:04 left, bringing the score back to one, 63-62.

AASU had a chance to extend the lead again, but Dwight Tolbert missed the front end of a one-and-one chance with 20 seconds left, leading to Lander's last chance. Smalls missed a basket with three seconds left, and Tolbert grabbed the rebound and iced the game with two free throws.

Senior guard T.T. Hall led a quartet of Pirates in double figures, hitting four three-pointers en route to a game-high 15 points. Calvin Wilson added 12 points, while Gabriel Robinson notched 11 points and Moultrie added 10 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots.

Lander was led by Wright's 13 points on the evening. The Bearcats enjoyed a slim rebounding advantage, 35-34, but the Pirates made two more three-pointers than Lander, making 8-of-28 from beyond the arc compared to 6-of-15 for the home squad.

The 14-2 start for the Pirates is the best in head coach Jeff Burkhamer's career at AASU, eclipsing the 13-4 start in 2005-06. It is also the best start to a season for an Armstrong Atlantic men's basketball team since the 1978-79 team went 14-2 en route to a No. 1 national ranking.

AASU returns to action on Wednesday, January 28, with a 7:30 p.m. Peach Belt Conference contest at Alumni Arena.