Florida Southern Edges Armstrong Men's Basketball, 79-78

LAKELAND, Fla. - Florida Southern's Rion Rayfield made two free throws with 11.7 seconds left, then blocked a game-winning shot attempt by Armstrong Atlantic State's Brett Goodwell with two seconds remaining to claim a 79-78 men's college basketball victory on Tuesday at the Jenkins Field House.

The Pirates (3-1) trailed by nine at halftime, 43-34, but opened up the second half on a 17-6 run to climb back into the contest. Armstrong took its biggest lead of the game on a jumper by Jesse Wheeler with 8:04 left, making the score 66-60, but Florida Southern (4-3) responded with a 9-0 run to retake the lead, 69-66, with exactly six minutes left.

What followed was a six-minute stretch where the lead changed nine times between the two teams, with four ties added in. A layup by Brett Goodwell put the Pirates ahead, 78-77, with 13 seconds left, but the Pirates committed a foul after going for a steal on the inbounds pass. Rayfield made two free throws to put the Mocs back up by one, 79-78, and on the inbounds Goodwell dribbled in among traffic and tried a reverse layup, only to be blocked by Rayfield. A follow try from Goodwell could not find the hoop and the Mocs escaped with the victory.

Goodwell hit 7-of-12 shots from the floor for his game-high 20 points as four Armstrong players reached double figures on the night. Senior Jesse Wheeler added 12 points while junior Grant Domsic hit 3-of-6 three-pointers en route to 11 points to go with five assists. Junior Mychal Horn added 10 points off the bench for the Pirates.

Florida Southern was led by Rayfield's 17 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-5 three-pointers and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Andre Hawkins added 15 points and Terry Jenkins chipped in 10.

The Pirates hit 14-of-26 shots after intermission, 53.8 percent, to climb back into the game in the second half. Armstrong finished the night 28-of-60 from the floor for 46.7 percent. Florida Southern hit 28-of-62 shots from the floor for 45.2 percent on the night, but hit 16-of-18 free throws for 88.9 percent on the evening.

Armstrong returns to action on Saturday, December 4, hosting No. 18-ranked Augusta State in the Pirates' Peach Belt Conference opener at 3:30 p.m. at Alumni Arena. At halftime of the men's contest, the 2010 NCAA DII National Champion women's tennis team will receive their national championship rings in a ceremony with University President Dr. Linda Bleicken.