Box Score Box score

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. − Chad July (Fort White, Fla./Bridgton (Maine) Academy) scored a season-high 26 points and grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds to help lead Flagler College to a 97-82 win over Armstrong Atlantic State University in a Peach Belt Conference men's basketball game Saturday evening at Flagler Gym.

Flagler won its second consecutive game and raised its record to 5-4 and also won its first Peach Belt game. The last conference win for Flagler was Feb. 11, 2006 in a 76-73 win over Warner Southern College in the old Florida Sun Conference at Flagler Gym. Since the 2005-06 season, Flagler has played as a NCAA Division II independent. Armstrong Atlantic lost its second consecutive game and fell to 5-6 overall and 0-2 in the Peach Belt.

The 6-foot-9 freshman center scored 16 points and corralled eight rebounds in the first half alone for the Saints. The tallest player, among the starters, for the Pirates was 6-foot-4.

John Pietkiewicz (Winter Park, Fla./New Hampton (N.H.) Prep) added 20 points and sank four 3-pointers. Eddie Fowler (Deltona, Fla./Pasco-Hernando CC) supplied 15 points while Kenny Moore (Vero Beach, Fla./Vero Beach HS) and Jarrod Branco (Hudson, Fla./Hudson HS) each tallied 11 points. Moore also added nine rebounds, four blocked shots and four steals. For the fifth game in a row #D.J. Ferguson# (Orlando, Fla./Bishop Moore HS) dished out double-figure assists, this time handing out 12.

Flagler shot 55.4% (31-56) from the field and made a season-high 29 free throws. The Saints used their size to an advantage out-scoring the Pirates 46-30 in the paint.

Patrick Shokpeka led the Pirates with 22 points, nine rebounds and six assists while David Pruett came off the bench to add 16 points and was 3-for-7 from 3-point range. Chris Vanlandingham, Gabriel Robinson and Keron McKenzie each scored 11 points for Armstrong Atlantic. Robinson led AASU with seven assists.

The Pirates were held to 39.2% (29-74) shooting from the field, including a 28.9% (11-38) clip in the first half.

After a Vanlandingham jumper pulled the Pirates to within three points (23-20), July answered with a layup which started an 18-5 run for the Saints over the next 5:02. Flagler held a 47-29 lead at the half.

The Saints held a double-digit lead for much of the second half, but Vanlandingham hit a layup with 11:55 left to cut the deficit to mime (61-52). Flagler quickly squelched the rally with a 17-7 tear and made 14-of-16 free throws in the last 1:45 of the game.

Flagler will take on No. 3 (NABC/NCAA Division II Poll) Augusta State University on Jan. 6, at Augusta, Ga., at 7:30 p.m.

Armstrong Atlantic vs Flagler
01/02/10 3:39 p.m. at St. Augustine, FL
At St. Augustine, FL

FLAGLER 97, ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC 82

ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC (5-6, 0-2 PBC)
Shokpeka, Patrick 9-20 4-7 22; Pruett, David 5-10 3-5 16; McKenzie, Keron
4-15 0-0 11; Robinson, Gabriel 4-7 3-3 11; Vanlandingham, Chris 3-8 5-9 11;
Brundidge, Arris 3-13 3-6 9; Lee, Nigel 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 29-74 18-30 82.

FLAGLER (5-4, 1-0 PBC)
July, Chad 9-12 8-9 26; Pietkiewicz, John 5-15 6-8 20; Fowler, Eddie 6-11
3-6 15; Moore, Kenny 5-7 1-2 11; Branco, Jarrod 1-1 8-8 11; Ferguson, D.J.
3-4 2-4 8; Dixon, Adam 1-2 1-2 3; Shuffler, Cody 1-2 0-0 3; Stokes, Justin
0-2 0-0 0; Clark, David 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-56 29-39 97.

Armstrong Atlantic............ 29 53 - 82
Flagler....................... 47 50 - 97

3-point goals--Armstrong Atlantic 6-23 (Pruett, David 3-7; McKenzie, Keron
3-10; Vanlandingham, Chris 0-3; Brundidge, Arris 0-1; Shokpeka, Patrick
0-2), Flagler 6-18 (Pietkiewicz, John 4-13; Shuffler, Cody 1-2; Branco,
Jarrod 1-1; Ferguson, D.J. 0-1; Fowler, Eddie 0-1). Fouled out--Armstrong
Atlantic-Robinson, Gabriel; Vanlandingham, Chris, Flagler-Moore, Kenny.
Rebounds--Armstrong Atlantic 37 (Shokpeka, Patrick 9), Flagler 48 (July,
Chad 14). Assists--Armstrong Atlantic 19 (Robinson, Gabriel 7), Flagler 25
(Ferguson, D.J. 12). Total fouls--Armstrong Atlantic 24, Flagler 22.
Technical fouls--Armstrong Atlantic-TEAM, Flagler-None. A-303