November 17, 2007

Boxscore

FLORENCE, S.C.—Freshman forward Zack Garst (Huntersville, N.C.) scored a team-high 14 points for St. Andrews Presbyterian College but Armstrong Atlantic State University made 16 steals en route to a 79-69 men’s basketball victory in Saturday’s finale of the Zaxby’s Peach Belt/Conference Carolinas Clazzic hosted by Francis Marion University.

The Pirates improved to 2-0 by scoring 33 points on 27 turnovers by the winless Knights (0-2).

Armstrong built a 45-34 lead at halftime by bucketing 18 of its first 29 shots from the floor for a sizzling 62.1-percent precision. St. Andrews stayed within striking distance at the midway point with a 16-7 rebounding advantage while converting on 13-of-24 (54.2%) shots.

Junior guard Charles Phillips (Decatur, Ga.) scored eight of his 10 points in the first half to lead the Knights into the locker room. Senior Bradley Hippolyte ( Brooklyn, N.Y.) dished out five assists in the opening 20 minutes.

The Pirated increased their lead to 18 (54-36) early in the second half but St. Andrews rallied with a 14-2 run to close the gap to six (56-50) with 13 minutes left. Senior forward Joseph Gripper (Charlotte, N.C.) highlighted the rally with five points and a lay-up by sophomore guard Greg Evans (Clinton, N.C.) capped the outburst.

AASU responded with a 9-0 run to once again extend their lead to double digits. The Pirates maintained a 17-point (76-59) advantage with four minutes remaining but the Knights kept fighting and an 8-0 run got SAPC to within nine. Sophomore guard Colby Poe (Bennettsville, N.C.) drilling a pair of 3-pointers in that span but he missed his final two shots and a couple of Pirates steals in the final two minutes ended the comeback attempt.

Gripper just missed a double-double for the Royal Blue and White with 12 points and eight boards. Poe was the fourth Knight to register at least 10 points in the scorebook with 11 points and a team-high three treys. Hippolyte and Evans finished with seven and six points, respectively.

For the second straight day to start the season the Knights made over 50-percent of their shots from the field. SAPC finished the game shooting with 51.0% accuracy. St. Andrews also controlled the boards, holding a 35-26 advantage on the glass.

Guards T.T. Hall and Jamaal Galloway pumped in 40 points for Armstrong Atlantic State. Hall had a game-high 23 while Galloway tallied 17. Both Hall and Galloway connected on four 3-pointers apiece. Patrick Sanou chipped in with 11 points and team-high’s of seven boards and five steals. William Kane provided a game-high eight assists.

St. Andrews next starts league play when they visit Conference Carolinas and NCAA Division II defending National Champions, Barton College, in Wilson, N.C. on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.