Day One Wrapup: 2009 Hampton Inn & Suites Fall Finals Classic

SAVANNAH, Ga. - It was a good day to be from the Peach Belt Conference or the state of North Carolina in the first day of the 2009 Hampton Inn & Suites Fall Fianls Classic, hosted by Armstrong Atlantic State University on Friday in Savannah.

Both winners of the women’s games on Friday come from the PBC, where Columbus State sprung the 57-56 upset of previously undefeated and No. 12-ranked Tampa, 57-56, while the host Armstrong Atlantic State Lady Pirates won their third in a row with an 83-56 win over Edward Waters College.

The two winners of the men’s games, meanwhile, hail from the Tarheel State as St. Augustine’s College out of Raleigh knocked off Lenoir-Rhyne, 65-54, while Mount Olive College handed the host AASU Pirates a 75-67 defeat in the final game of the day.

The Lady Pirates (3-4) scored 54 points in the first half, building a 54-24 lead at intermission and holding on for the 27-point victory. The 50+ points in the first half were the most in a half for AASU women’s basketball since the Lady Pirates put up 59 points in the second half of an 85-81 win over Lenoir-Rhyne on Nov. 21, 2006.

AASU placed five players in double figures, led by double-doubles from senior Dartayvia Thomas (17 points, 11 rebounds) and freshman Marissa Rimbert (16 points, 14 rebounds), while sophomore Brooke Long and senior Portia Jones chipped in 12 points apiece and senior Lauren Hall added 10. Edward Waters (4-7) was led by Ashley Hamn’s 14 points.

Mount Olive, meanwhile, knocked off the Pirates in the first ever meeting between the two teams. The Trojans (5-2) average 86.2 points per game and scored their season-low output of 75 points, but it was still enough to hand Armstrong Atlantic (3-4) its third loss in its last four contests.

The Trojans were led by Craig Hayes’ double-double of 18 points and 14 rebounds, while Kendrick Easley notched 17 points and Mike Holloman added 17 points off the bench as well. Armstrong Atlantic placed three players in double figures, led by sophomore Chris Vanlandingham’s 17 points and senior Patrick Shokpeka’s 16 points. Senior Gabriel Robinson added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

In the day’s first game, Columbus State upset No. 12-ranked Tampa by one point on Lauren Ringfield’s free throw with 7.5 seconds remaining, handing the Spartans (9-1) their first loss of the season. The Cougars (5-3) got 22 points from Turelle Jones, who had to pick up the soring slack in the wake of preseason All-American Phebe Smith’s six points and three rebounds in only 15 minutes of action before fouling out in the second half. Tampa got a game-high 23 points from Tiara Cook and 10 points from Taja Green in the loss.

The first men’s game of the day saw St. Augustine’s shoot 56.5 percent from the floor in notching the 11-point win win over Lenoir-Rhyne. The Falcons (7-1) stretched their winning streak to seven with the win behind a game-high 19 points from Chris Jordan and 12 points from George DeGroat. Lenoir-Rhyne (2-6) got 17 points and six rebounds from D.J. Blackmon and 15 points from Marcus Hodges.

Play in the 2009 Hampton Inn & Suites Fall Finals Classic concludes on Saturday with games beginning at 1:00 p.m., when Edward Waters faces Columbus State in women’s action. St. Augustine’s hosts Mount Olive in men’s action at 3 p.m., with the host AASU Lady Pirates taking on No. 12 Tampa at 6:00 p.m. and the AASU men facing Lenoir-Rhyne at 8:00 p.m.