Hurricanes Blow Past Pirates, 65-62

AMERICUS, Ga. - Georgia Southwestern hit 50% from the floor in the second half in coming away with a 65-62 Peach Belt Conference men's basketball victory over visiting Armstrong Atlantic State on Thursday evening in Americus, Ga.

The Pirates (8-15, 3-11 PBC) dropped their second straight contest, while Georgia Southwestern (6-16, 2-10 PBC) snapped a six-game losing streak with the victory.

Armstrong Atlantic led by one at halftime, 30-29, and the Pirates jumped out to a 42-35 lead when senior Keron McKenzie completed a four-point play with 13:15 left to go in the game. The Hurricanes, though, embarked on a 9-0 run over the next three minutes to take the lead for good.

Georgia Southwestern led by eight, 61-53, with 2:23 remaining, but the Pirates winnowed that lead down to one, 63-62, on a Gabriel Robinson basket with 34 seconds left. Two free throws from the Hurricanes' Marcus Scott pushed the lead to three with 21 seconds left, and the Pirates got off three three-point attempts in the final 21 seconds to try and tie, but could not get one to fall.

Scott led all scorers on the night for the Hurricanes with 22 points, while Evan Mobley added 16 points and Chris Rawls added a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Senior Patrick Shokpeka led a quartet of Pirates in double figures with 16 points, while Robinson added 13 points. Keron McKenzie notched 12 points and Chris Vanlandingham added 11 points.

The Hurricanes finished the game hitting 20-of-43 shots from the floor for 46.5 percent, while the Pirates made 26-of-66 shots from the floor for 39.4 percent. AASU made just 2-of-14 shots from three-point range (14.3 percent) while Georgia Southwestern made 19-of-23 shots from the free throw line for 82.6 percent, compared to just 8-of-13 for the Pirates (61.5 percent).

AASU returns to action on Saturday, February 13, with a 3:30 p.m. Peach Belt Conference matchup at Columbus State.