In the evening’s opening game, Armstrong Atlantic State University outlasted Coker College 75-73, thanks to a bucket by T.T. Hill with 4.7 ticks left.  AASU and FMU will swap opponents on Saturday, with the Pirates playing St. Andrews at 6 p.m. and Francis Marion facing rival Coker at 8 p.m.

Junior 6-5 forward Ziyadah Carter paced FMU (1-0) with 15 points, while 6-7 freshman center David Turner added 12 points, 6-10 senior center Carter Stiglbauer 10, and Power 10.  Power also handed out seven assists.

Junior guard Joseph Gripper paced four St. Andrews (0-1) players in double figures with 19 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.  Sophomore guard Colby Poe, a native of Bennettsville, came off the Knights’ bench and tallied 16 points, while Marcus Hoke and Bradley Hippolyte each scored 11.

Despite trailing for the opening six minutes, FMU led for most of the first half, including a 10-point margin (36-26) after a jumper by Carter.  The Patriots owned a 36-28 advantage at intermission.

St. Andrews gradually closed the gap in the second stanza and, using a 12-0 run, led 60-55 with 5:58 remaining.  A pair of Power free throws knotted the score at 66-66 with 1:53 on the clock.  A basket by Kevin Clark put Francis Marion ahead 68-66, but Hippolyte drained two free throws with 36 seconds left to again tie the score.

As FMU ran down the clock, Power drove toward the basket and made an off-balance shot to give the Patriots a 70-68 lead.  Poe missed a potential game-winning three-pointer with nine seconds left and FMU point guard Crayton Jones rebounded the miss.

Francis Marion connected on 52.8 percent of its field goal attempts, including 56 percent over the final 20 minutes.  St. Andrews shot 50 percent from the floor, including 11 of 23 three-point attempts.

11-16-07 8:10 pm at Florence, SC (Smith University Center)
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY 70, ST. ANDREWS PRESBYTERIAN COLL. 68

ST. ANDREWS PRESBYTERIAN COLL. (0-1)
Gripper, Joseph 6-13 4-4 19; Poe, Colby 5-13 2-5 16; Hippolyte, Bradley 3-7
5-6 11; Hoke, Marcus 4-6 0-0 11; Phillips, Charles 1-1 0-1 3; Evans, Greg
1-1 0-0 2; Lanham, Josh 1-1 0-0 2; Zacharias, Benny 1-2 0-0 2; Garst, Zack
1-2 0-1 2; Deas, Ron 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-46 11-17 68.
FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY (1-0)
Carter, Ziyadah 6-13 0-1 15; Turner, David 5-7 0-0 12; Stiglbauer, Carter
5-6 0-0 10; Power, Houston 3-8 3-4 10; Clark, Kevin 4-4 1-1 9; Smith, Sam
3-7 2-2 8; Boyd, Simel 1-2 2-4 4; Jones, Crayton 1-2 0-0 2; Burton, Rodrick
0-1 0-0 0; Laney, Michael 0-0 0-0 0; Baker, Cortne' 0-1 0-0 0; Morley, Nate
0-2 0-1 0. Totals 28-53 8-13 70.
Halftime: Francis Marion 36 St. Andrews 28.
3-point goals-St. Andrews Presbyterian Coll. 11-23 (Poe, Colby 4-9; Hoke,
Marcus 3-5; Gripper, Joseph 3-7; Phillips, Charles 1-1; Zacharias, Benny
0-1), Francis Marion University 6-18 (Carter, Ziyadah 3-8; Turner, David
2-3; Power, Houston 1-3; Boyd, Simel 0-1; Baker, Cortne' 0-1; Morley, Nate
0-2). Fouled out--St. Andrews Presbyterian Coll.-None, Francis Marion
University-None. Rebounds-St. Andrews Presbyterian Coll. 26 (Gripper, Joseph
8), Francis Marion University 26 (Smith, Sam 6). Assists-St. Andrews
Presbyterian Coll. 16 (Phillips, Charles 5; Gripper, Joseph 5), Francis
Marion University 22 (Power, Houston 7). Total fouls-St. Andrews
Presbyterian Coll. 12, Francis Marion University 17. A-895

AASU 75, Coker 73

FLORENCE, S.C. - Junior T.T. Hall's baseline jumper with 4.7 seconds remaining lifted the Armstrong Atlantic State men's basketball team to a 75-73 season-opening victory over Coker College in the Zaxby's PBC/Conference Carolinas Clazzic in Florence, S.C., on Friday evening.

The Pirates (1-0) jumped ahead early of the Cobras (0-1), taking a 15-5 lead in the game's first seven minutes, but Coker closed back to within three points on a layup by Stevie Evans with 6:51 left until intermission, putting the score at 25-22. AASU closed out the half strong, ending on a 9-2 run in the final 3:40 to take a 43-31 lead into the break.

Senior Jamaal Galloway had a perfect first half, going 4-for-4 from the field and 3-of-3 on three-pointers for 11 points. The third three-pointer was the 200th for his career, becoming the first AASU player to reach 200 career threes.

After the half, the Pirates built its largest lead, 69-55, with 6:21 left, but Coker stormed back to tie the game, 73-73, on a three-pointer by Ryan Fulwood with 22.9 seconds remaining. With eight seconds left on the game clock, Hall took the ball at the top of the key, drove to his right, faked a pass then floated the shot to give the Pirates the two-point lead. A deflected inbounds pass left 2.9 seconds left on the clock for Coker to go the length of the floor, then a pass resulted in a long game-winning try by Fulwood just past halfcourt that fell short of the mark.

Galloway led the Pirates with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor, including 4-of-7 three-pointers, while Patrick Sanou collected 15 points and nine rebounds. Hall finished the game with 13 points and Calvin Wilson notched 12 points and 7 steals. Fulwood led the Cobras with a game-high 21 points, including 7-of-9 three-pointers.