Men's Basketball 2009-10 Notes - March 1

	Armstrong Atlantic State (12-15, 7-11) -- The Armstrong Atlantic State men's basketball squad played its way into the 2010 PBC Tournament by winning both games on the week, completing a remarkable turnaround to the second half of the league season ... The Pirates began the year 0-9 in league play, but went 7-2 over the last nine games to earn the fourth seed in the PBC East Division ... AASU defeated UNC Pembroke, 81-62, on Wednesday behind 23 points from Patrick Shokpeka and 16 points from Keron McKenzie ... Needing a win on Saturday against Francis Marion, the Pirates built a 17-point first half lead against the Patriots, but watched FMU begin the second half on a 22-4 run to erase that deficit ... With 4.4 seconds remaining, McKenzie buried a three-pointer that gave AASU the 78-76 victory over the Patriots and clinched the No. 4 seed ... McKenzie hit for 26 points on the evening, while Shokpeka added 20 points and eight rebounds ... AASU will now face Augusta State in the first round of the PBC Tournament on Wednesday in Augusta ... The Pirates are 19-17 all-time in PBC Tournament games, the second-best winning percentage among league schools, and AASU has reached the PBC Tournament Championship Game four times in school history.
	Augusta State (25-2, 17-1) -- Augusta State closed out its regular season with an 82-55 victory over Lander on Senior Night in Christenberry Fieldhouse on Saturday, Feb. 27 ... With the victory, the Jaguars set a new record for the most regular-season wins in school history with 25 ... The victory extended ASU’s current winning streak to 10 in a row, its home winning streak to 27 consecutive games, its regular-season home winning streak to 24 in a row and its Peach Belt Conference home winning streak to 24 straight ... With the win over the Bearcats, ASU posted its third consecutive season with 17 conference wins, its third straight season with 25 or more wins and its fourth straight season with 24 or more wins ... With its 77-60 win at Francis Marion on Saturday, Feb. 20, ASU clinched its second consecutive PBC Championship ... The title marked the third PBC regular-season championship in the last four years for the Jaguars ... ASU became the first program to record back-to-back league titles since Kennesaw State in 2003-04 and 2004-05 ... The Jags are only the third program in the 20-year history of the PBC to claim consecutive conference championships .. The Jags were ranked No. 1 in the fifth NCAA Southeast Region poll of the season on Wednesday, Feb. 24 ... ASU inched up two spots to No. 3 in the nation in the NABC Coaches Poll on Tuesday, Feb. 21 after spending the previous week at No. 5 ... With its No. 3 ranking, ASU has appeared in the top 25 for a school-record 48 consecutive weeks and in the top 20 for 37 consecutive weeks, dating back to the 2006-07 campaign ... The Jags have been ranked among the nation’s top 10 in 30 of the last 32 polls, and have cracked the top five 16 times under head coach Dip Metress ... On Jan. 13, ASU ascended to the No. 1 ranking in the nation for the first time in school history ... With his first field goal at Francis Marion, a 3-pointer at the 18:22 mark of the first half, senior guard Ben Madgen bypassed former Lady Jaguar standout Lawanna Monday as the all-time leading scorer in school history ... Monday’s standard of 2,143 points had stood since 1998 … Madgen has 2,166 points heading into the postseason ... With 21 points on Saturday, Jan. 30 at Columbus State, Madgen surpassed the 2,000-point mark in his career ... With its Senior Night win over Lander, ASU improved to 106-21 (.835) over the last four seasons (beginning with the 2006-07 season) ... With that victory total, ASU is the winningest program in the state of Georgia among ALL divisions ... The Jags are 65-9 (.878) in the PBC over the last four seasons ... ASU is 53-4 (.930) at home over the last four seasons ... The Jags are 30-3 (.909) on Saturdays in the PBC over the last four seasons ... With its 84-67 win over No. 14 Georgia College & State on Thursday, Feb. 11, ASU is 20-8 (.714) vs. nationally-ranked opponents under Metress ... The Jags’ 25-2 record through 27 games matches the best record in school history through 27 games (ASU went 25-2 in 1969-70) ... In 14 home games, the Jags have posted an average winning margin of 24.7 points -- winning each game by at least 14 points.
	Clayton State (15-12, 8-9) -- The Clayton State Lakers closed out the regular season with a two-game split and a berth in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament in the process... Clayton State dropped a tough 82-79 decision at North Georgia on Wednesday as the Saints nailed two big 3-point baskets in the final minute. Timmy Downs paced Clayton State with 26 points, followed by Robert Murry with 22 points and Eric Wilson with 11 points... Clayton State limited Georgia Southwestern to only 26 percent shooting from the field and only 20 percent from 3-point range. Brandon Robinson scored 17 points for Clayton State, followed by Torrin Greene with 13 points off the bench... This is the 20th season of men's basketball at Clayton State, and the Lakers' all-time record is 312-267... Clayton State is leading the Peach Belt Conference in turnover margin, ranked second in free throw percentage and field goal percentage defense, third in steals and fourth in scoring defense, 3-point percentage defense, rebounding and assist-to-turnover ratio... Downs leads the Peach Belt in assist-to-turnover ratio, is ranked seventh in both assists and steals and eighth in free throw percentage. Murry is ranked fifth in the conference in scoring and 10th in free throw percentage and center Armon Jones is ranked sixth in rebounding... Laker head coach Gordon Gibbons is now 170-98 in his ninth season at the Laker helm... Clayton State travels to Georgia College on Wednesday for the Peach Belt Conference quarterfinals.
	Columbus State (12-14, 6-11) -- CSU ended the season on Saturday at Montevallo with a 82-63 loss, and with that unfortunately, the Doug Branson era came to a close...Branson announced his resignation as head coach immediately after the game...CSU finished the season at 12-14 overall and 6-11 in PBC play...Chris Telesford and Brandon Bland, two of the team's four seniors, closed out their final season with solid performances...Both players scored 17 points on Saturday...Telesford averaged 16.5 in the final two games, while Bland averaged 13 per contest...The Cougars had some big wins during the season, with the most impressive being a defeat of then #2 Valdosta State in December...A key injury to post player Jeffeth Maxim in the team's third game had a lasting impact on the season, but sporadic free-throw shooting and very inconsistent perimeter shooting were thorns in the team's side all year...A solid corps of players will return next season...The search for a head coach begins immediately.
	Flagler (11-16, 6-12) -- Flagler closed out its season with a 1-1 week and were eliminated from post-season considerations after losing at UNC Pembroke in the final game of the season...D.J. Ferguson led Flagler in scoring with an 18.5 point per game average and also averaged 6.5 assists per game last week...Chad July averaged 12.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game...Eddie Fowler averaged 10.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game...Flagler won its last home game of the season over Francis Marion, 72-63...Ferguson scored 18 points and dished out eight assists...Kenny Moore added 12 points and nine rebounds while Fowler tacked on 12 points...The Flagler defense held FMU without a made 3-pointer on 18 attempts...Ferguson had 19 points and five assists at UNCP in the season finale...He fell eight assists shy of breaking the Peach Belt Conference's single-season record...Fowler added 14 points and eight rebounds while July recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds...Flagler lost eight games this season by 10 or fewer points, including five conference tilts...John Pietkiewicz surpassed the 1,000-point milestone and Ferguson became the school's all-time assist leader.
	Francis Marion (18-9, 10-8) -- FMU lost two PBC road games last week to end its regular season. FMU has surpassed last year’s win totals for both overall and conference play....Recorded its second-best 19-game start (16-3) in team history (bested only by 17-2 starts in 1979-80 and 2003-04)....Over the past 58 games, FMU is 36-22....Head coach Gary Edwards has increased his win total each of his four years: 9, 12, 16, 18.... Sophomore C Andrew Smith averaged 13 ppg last week, including a career-high 19 points vs AASU...Junior F Simel Boyd leads the team in scoring at 12.1 ppg and rebounding at 6.6 rpg. Boyd grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds vs AASU last Saturday....The FMU bench outscored its counterparts 58-29 in last week’s 2 games, and owns a 315-155 edge in the last 10 games....11 of the 13 Patriots have scored in double figures at least once this season.....FMU was 0-for-18 on three-pointers vs Flagler, the first time in 566 games dating back to 1990 that FMU did not make a three-pointer. FMU was 10-of-21 on threes in its next game at AASU...FMU is shooting 44.0% from the floor as a team, while holding opponents to 39.9% (15th best in D2). FMU is 11th nationally in three-point percentage defense (29.5%) and is 14th in steals per game.....The Patriots have outrebounded 142 of their last 222 opponents, including 17 of 27 this year....Only 64 of FMU’s last 221 opponents have shot above 46 percent from the floor.....Third-seeded FMU plays at second-seeded USCA on March 3 at 7 p.m. in the first round of the PBC Tournament. FMU is 4-16 all-time at the PBC Tournament and the Patriots’ last win was in 1999.
	GCSU (22-4, 15-2) -- #17 in NABC National Poll, #3 in Southeast Region ... The PBC West champions picked up two wins this week, beating Montevallo 73-65 at home Wednesday and traveling to North Georgia for a 84-68 win Saturday … Ty Rowland and Graham Martin had 16 points apiece against UM, with Rowland adding a big 26 points to lead the way at NGCSU ... The three turnovers committed against Clayton Feb. 6 were a school record … Graham Martin is eighth in all-time scoring at GCSU, now with 1,277; William Northcut (1987-91) is No. 7 at 1,308 ... The Nov. 18 win over Newberry was the 475th in the career of head coach Terry Sellers … Ty Rowland now has 359 career assists, ranking third in GCSU history, and tops in the NCAA-era of Bobcat men's hoops … Jake Rios tied the school single-game record with 11 threes in the first half, beating it with two more in the second against Carver Dec. 3; Rios came one shy of the PBC mark and three behind the NCAA D2 record for threes in a game ... His 39 points ranks fourth all-time for GCSU and tops in the NCAA-era for the school ... The Bobcats host Clayton State Wednesday night in the PBC Quarterfinals, GCSU swept Clayton this year.
	Georgia Southwestern (7-20, 3-14) -- The Hurricanes dropped a pair of PBC West Division road games last week, opening with a 68-56 loss at Columbus State on Wednesday, before finishing the season with a 69-41 defeat at Clayton State on Saturday...Hurricane shooters were ice cold for the first 25 minutes of the game against Columbus State. GSW was 3-for-22 from the floor in the opening half and the shooting woes spilled into the beginning of the second stanza as the 'Canes opened 1-for-9. With 15:04 left in the game, Southwestern had a 12.9 field goal percentage (4-for-31). Despite the shooting woes, the 'Canes were within four points with 1:56 remaining. Evan Mobley scored a season-high 24 points to lead GSW. Chris Rawls posted his sixth double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds...On Saturday, GSW trailed 30-24 at intermission, only to see the cold shooting return - going 21.4 percent from the floor in the second stanza - and Clayton State pulled away for the win. Marcus Scott finished with 14 points for GSW...Rawls finishes the season ranked eighth in the PBC in overall scoring average (15.3 ppg). He's eighth in rebounds (7.2 rpg), 12th in field goal percentage (47.9) and 12th in free throw percentage (75.2).
	Lander (11-16, 5-13) -- Lander ended its season with two losses last week, 72-66 at home against USC Aiken and 82-55 at No. 3-ranked Augusta State. Senior Dane Sparrow led the Bearcats in scoring this season with 14.6 points per game, while senior Brenton Harris averaged 10.7 points and a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game. In final team statistics, Lander, which shot 45 percent from the field for the season, and its opponents both averaged 69 points per game, while the Bearcats out-rebounded their opponent, 36.3 to 34.7 rebounds per game.
	Montevallo (21-6, 11-6) -- The Falcons went 1-1 this week to secure the No. 2 seed in the Western Division. UM opened the week with a tough 73-65 loss to GCSU. Senior Mark Plaza set another UM milestone as he passed Jamil Jerman (2004-06) for the career record in assists at UM during the NCAA era. Plaza dished out five assists in the game to give him 267 for his career which is two more than Jerman had during his two seasons at Montevallo. The Falcons were led in scoring by senior Freddy Little who had 22 points while hitting five shots from three-point range. Junior Tauras Dortch chipped in 11 points and six rebounds while senior Gerald January had 10 points and four boards. Senior Jordan Hutchison had a season-high 10 points off the bench as he hit two three pointers. Junior Cecil Coleman led the team on the boards with eight rebounds while scoring four points. The Falcons were out-rebounded 36-31 and gave up 15 second chance points compared to just five of their own. In the second game of the week the Falcons defeated Columbus State at home 82-63. Little led the Falcons with 21 points off of 7-of-16 shooting. He hit five shots from downtown which gave him 152 threes for his career. That number eclipsed the mark set by Greg Brown (2005-07) who hit 151 threes during his career and held the UM NCAA record for threes in a career. Little is now just three threes away from tying the All-Time UM record for threes in a career held by Romeo Penn (1992-96) and Lewis Brooks (1984-88) who hit 155 during their careers. January chipped in 19 points as he was a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor and hit 9-of-12 free throws. Dortch had 10 points while Hutchison had seven points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Plaza had six points and dished out a game-high six assists. The Falcons shot 51.7 percent from the floor and 36.8 percent from three point range compared to CSU's 44.6 percent from the floor and just 10.0 percent from three-point range. UM will now host No. 3 seed North Georgia College and State University on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
	North Georgia (15-12, 10-7) -- The Saints split a pair of games last week, come back late for a victory over Clayton State, before hosting and falling to 17th-ranked GCSU in the regular season finale. Against the Lakers, the Saints were down two and 19 seconds remaining, Norman pulled up from long range, draining the three-pointer to put the Saints up by a bucket. Following a Clayton State missed three-pointer on the ensuing possession, Taylor was fouled and hit both free throws, giving North Georgia a three-point edge at 82-79 with just 11 ticks remaining. Taylor led the Saints and all scorers with 26 points, while Norman added 18 points on 4-7 shooting from long range. Butler finished in double figures with 13 points and seven rebounds, while Bernard Rimmer pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds to go with seven points. Against GCSU, the second half proved to be even closer than the first as the lead changed hands four times and was tied twice in the first 10 minutes. The Bobcats then started to take over and pull away, creating their largest lead at 12 points with 6:21 remaining as Graham Martin hit a layup to make it a 67-55 game. North Georgia would never make the GCSU lead single digits again, pulling to within 11 points at two different times, but never any closer as the Bobcats pulled away for the 16-point victory at 84-68. Four North Georgia players finished in double figures, led by Carl Taylor’s 19 points, while Norman and Bennett tallied 15 points apiece. The Saints will now travel to Montevallo for the first round of the 2010 Peach Belt Conference basketball tournament. Tip-off against the Falcons is set for next Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m. Central Standard Time.
	UNC Pembroke (9-18, 5-13) -- UNCP went 1-2 on the week with losses against North Georgia and Armstrong Atlantic and a victory over Flagler. North Georgia defeated the Braves 78-69 on Monday night before AASU handed UNCP an 81-62 defeat on Wednesday. The win by the Pirates ended Pembroke’s hopes of making the 2010 Peach Belt Conference Tournament beginning this week. In their final game of the season the Braves may have played their most complete game of the season, defeating Flagler 102-77 on senior day this past Saturday afternoon. Four different Braves scored in double figures as UNCP shot 48.6 percent from the floor. Flagler was in contention for a spot in the PBC Tournament until the defeat at the hands of Pembroke.
	USC Aiken (16-10, 11-7) -- USC Aiken concluded its final week of the 2009-10 regular season at 1-1 … The Pacers closed out their Peach Belt Conference regular season slate with a 72-66 victory over Lander … The Pacers concluded their week with a narrow 83-82 loss to King at the Convocation Center … The Pacers were down by as many as 22 in the second half, but they battled all the way back in the final four minutes of the game … The USC Aiken men's basketball team will begin play in the 2010 Marvin Vanover Peach Belt Conference Basketball Championship by playing host to Francis Marion at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 3 … The Pacers are the second seed in the Peach Belt Conference East … The Pacers finished one game above PBC East third-seeded Francis Marion in the league standings to earn the home contest … USC Aiken concluded its 2009-10 regular season with a 16-10 record … USC Aiken was 11-7 during the regular season in Peach Belt Conference action … Francis Marion concluded its 2009-10 season with a league record of 10-8 … The Patriots were 18-9 overall … The GCSU Bobcats are the top seed in the West, while Clayton State ended the year as the fourth seed in the West … USC Aiken and Francis Marion have tangled twice in the 2009-10 season with Francis Marion acquiring a victory in both of the games … The Pacers opened up their 2009-10 league campaign with an 83-73 loss to Francis Marion in Florence, S.C. on Dec. 2, 2009 … Francis Marion snapped USC Aiken's season-high seven-game winning streak in the second meeting between the two on Jan. 13, 2010 … The Patriots earned a 77-71 overtime victory over the Pacers … USC Aiken never trailed in the second half with FMU tying the game in the final minute to send it into overtime … The Patriots would outscore the Pacers, 11-5, in the extra frame to earn the 77-71 victory … According to USC Aiken athletic records, USC Aiken and Francis Marion have squared off on the hardwood 70 times with FMU holding a 42-28 all-time series advantage … The Pacers have won four of the last six meetings between the two programs.