SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Steve Smith’s free throw with 37 seconds left in overtime lifted Augusta State to an 83-82 victory over Armstrong Atlantic State in a Peach Belt Conference showdown in Alumni Arena.

On the ensuing possession, Smith slapped away Corey Johnson’s shot attempt underneath the basket with three seconds left. The Pirates retained possession, but Jamal Galloway’s 3-point attempt with the shot clock expiring was an air ball and after the turnover, ASU inbounded the ball and the game clock expired.

The victory improved the 22nd-ranked Jaguars to 9-3 overall and to 4-1 in the Peach Belt Conference The Pirates dropped to 9-3 and 3-2 in the league. The contest matched up the second and third-place teams in the PBC standings.

ASU sophomore guard/forward Ben Madgen scored 28 points – one off his career high – and hit 17-of-18 free throws. Junior center Garret Siler had 21 points and nine rebounds before fouling out. Siler’s 21 points marked his best scoring output since tallying a career-high 30 vs. Florida Southern in the Jags’ second game of the season on Nov. 17.

Sophomore point guard Daniel Dixon had 15 points and senior forward AJ Bowman recorded his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds. He extended his streak of double-figure scoring games to 32.

Johnson paced AASU with 27 points and Galloway added 15. Senior point guard William Kane, who entered the contest leading the nation in assists, notched 12 points and five assists.

The Jags trailed by as many as seven down the stretch before mounting a comeback. Staring at a 79-72 deficit with 3:11 left in the game, ASU got four straight free throws from Siler and Madgen to pull within three. After the Pirates’ Brian Moultrie hit one-of-two from the charity stripe, Dixon drilled a 3-pointer with 1:44 remaining to get the Jags within 70-69.

Armstrong’s Galloway hit the second of two free-throw attempts to put the hosts ahead 71-69 with 14 seconds to go. After a timeout, the Jags ran the clock down and Siler’s slam dunk on a feed from Madgen with 0.5 seconds to go forged a 71-all tie and forced the extra period.

ASU tips off a three-game homestand when it hosts Lander in a PBC battle on Wednesday, Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m.

Official Basketball Box Score
Augusta State vs Armstrong Atlantic
01/12/08 7:30 p.m. at Savannah, Ga. (Alumni Arena)
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VISITORS: Augusta State 9-3, 4-1 PBC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
23 Bowman, Tyrekus..... f  5-11   0-2    1-5    3  8 11   3  11  2  3  0  2  42
21 Siler, Garret....... c  8-9    0-0    5-7    5  4  9   5  21  1  5  1  1  35
00 Dixon, Daniel....... g  4-10   4-7    3-3    1  2  3   4  15  1  5  0  1  26
01 Madgen, Ben......... g  5-15   1-7   17-18   3  3  6   4  28  1  2  0  0  39
02 Smith, Steve........ g  1-10   0-5    1-2    2  1  3   0   3  1  0  0  2  30
03 Howard, Demetrius...    2-5    1-3    0-0    4  1  5   1   5  1  2  0  1  31
24 Brown, Caleb........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   1   0  0  1  0  0  13
33 Tambon, Luke........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  0   9
   TEAM................                            2  2
   Totals..............   25-60   6-24  27-35  18 22 40  19  83  7 18  1  7 225


TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  9-23 39.1%   2nd Half: 12-28 42.9%   OT:  4-9  44.4%   Game: 41.7%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-10 30.0%   2nd Half:  3-11 27.3%   OT:  0-3   0.0%   Game: 25.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 14-16 87.5%   2nd Half:  9-12 75.0%   OT:  4-7  57.1%   Game: 77.1%    2


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HOME TEAM: Armstrong Atlantic 9-3, 3-2 PBC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
24 Wilson, Calvin...... f  1-4    0-0    0-0    2  4  6   4   2  1  3  0  1  19
40 Sanou, Patrick...... c  0-1    0-0    0-0    1  2  3   5   0  0  1  3  0  18
10 Kane, William....... g  4-7    4-6    0-0    0  1  1   2  12  5  2  0  2  36
11 Hall, T.T........... g  3-11   0-4    1-4    0  2  2   3   7  0  2  1  1  27
12 Johnson, Corey...... g  8-18   6-13   5-6    1  4  5   2  27  3  3  0  1  38
02 Galloway, Jamaal....    5-7    3-5    2-3    0  2  2   2  15  1  1  0  0  22
03 Webber, Andrew......    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  1  0  1  10
22 Hayden, Parker......    0-0    0-0    3-3    0  0  0   0   3  0  0  0  0   3
23 Brown, Franchot.....    2-4    0-0    2-2    2  4  6   5   6  0  1  0  0  24
34 Moultrie, Brian.....    2-2    0-0    1-2    1  2  3   2   5  0  2  0  2  18
45 Bloemhof, Nick......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  0   2
50 Ancrum, Bobby.......    2-2    1-1    0-0    1  0  1   1   5  0  1  0  0   8
   TEAM................                         2  2  4             1
   Totals..............   27-57  14-30  14-20  10 23 33  28  82 10 18  4  8 225


TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-28 42.9%   2nd Half: 12-24 50.0%   OT:  3-5  60.0%   Game: 47.4%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  9-16 56.3%   2nd Half:  4-12 33.3%   OT:  1-2  50.0%   Game: 46.7%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  5-5  100 %   2nd Half:  5-9  55.6%   OT:  4-6  66.7%   Game: 70.0%    4


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Officials:
Technical fouls: Augusta State-None. Armstrong Atlantic-None.
Attendance: 556
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   OT   Total
Augusta State.................   35   36   12  -   83
Armstrong Atlantic............   38   33   11  -   82

Points in the paint-ASU 34,AASU 20. Points off turnovers-ASU 22,AASU 20.
2nd chance points-ASU 15,AASU 9. Fast break points-ASU 0,AASU 4.
Bench points-ASU 5,AASU 34. Score tied-14 times. Lead changed-12 times.
Last FG-ASU OT-01:24, AASU OT-01:09.