Cougars Suffer Second Straight Loss at Home, 72-56 to AASU

Columbus, Ga. -- Columbus State struggled offensively from the outset on Saturday at the Lumpkin Center and suffered a second-consecutive home loss as Armstrong Atlantic State took a 72-56 Peach Belt Conference win. The loss stung a little more as Clayton State took a road win at Francis Marion and now sits in sole possession of fourth place in the PBC West Division standings. The Cougars and Lakers meet in a pivotal PBC contest on Wednesday in Morrow.

CSU managed just 17 first-half points on Saturday - a season-low for points in a half - and tied its season-low for total points in a game with the 56. The Cougars just never got into any sort of offensive rhythm in the game, hitting just seven field goals in the first half as they shot 26 percent. Leading scorer Lamar Williams was held scoreless in the game, going 0-9 from the floor - a microcosm of the afternoon for the Cougars.

CSU held its only lead of the game in the contest's first three minutes. AASU went on top 5-4 on a David Pruett jumper at the 16:55 mark, giving the Pirates the lead for good. CSU hung around and cut what had been a nine-point deficit to 19-15 with 8:13 left in the half. AASU out-scored the Cougars 12-2 over the remainder of the half to take a 31-17 lead into the intermission.

In the second half, CSU improved its shooting to 40 percent, but the Pirates also improved, shooting 43 percent. AASU put the game away at the free-throw line, however, hitting 18 of 25 foul shots. CSU cut the margin to 11 points twice early in the period, and then got it to 12 points with 5:32 left in teh game on a Brandon Bland free-throw, but AASU answered with a Gabriel Robinson three-pointer on the ensuing possession and never looked back.

Robinson led the Pirates with 16 points on the day as AASU put five players in double digits. Chris Vanlandingham and Patrick Shokpeka each tallied 13 points, while Keron McKenzie came off the bench to score 12 and Pruett added 11. Marquise Duvall led the Pirates in rebounding with 11 as the team held a 41-34 advantage in that category.

Blake Zamudio (three treys) and Brandon Bland each came off the bench to score 13 points and lead the Cougars offensively. Chris Telesford posted another double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds, but was just 5-13 from the field on the day. Bryant Thomas added nine points. The Cougars were just 21-62 from the floor for 34 percent in the game.

CSU will try and pull back even with Clayton State on Wednesday as the Cougars fight to gain a spot in the PBC Tournament at season's end. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. in Morrow.