Both the Pirates (6-3) and the Bulldogs (7-4) put on an offensive display in the first half as Armstrong shot 75 percent from the floor (24-of-32), including 9-of-12 three-pointers, while Barton hit 18-of-29 from the floor for 62.1 percent. The Pirates built a 69-49 halftime lead and stretched that lead to 24, 79-55, on a jumper by Chris Vanlandingham with 14:47 remaining in the second half.
The Bulldogs started their charge by going on a 25-10 run over the next 10 minutes, eventually tying the game on a Greg Mammel free throw with 19 seconds remaining. The Pirates' Chris Edwards took the out-of-bounds pass and drove all the way down the floor, converting a layup with 12 seconds left. On the other end, L.J. Dunn grabbed an offensive rebound off of a missed shot by R.D. Dowdy, drew a foul and sank both free throws with 5.5 seconds left to tie the game at 96-96. A three-point attempt to win at the buzzer by the Pirates' Mychal Horn fell short and the game went into overtime.
The Pirates took a three-point lead in the overtime period on two free throws from Vanlandingham and a free throw from DeVon Jones, but Mammel canned a three-pointer with 48 seconds left to tie the game at 101-all. Gerald Boston then gave the Bulldogs the lead for good with a three-pointer with five seconds left, and Dowdy added a free throw at the end for the final margin.
"We just didn't complete plays when we needed it [down the stretch]," Armstrong head men's basketball coach Jeremy Luther said. "We didn't run our plays and didn't stop them from getting basket after basket. It's a real tough loss, but we've got to learn from this and move on."
The Pirates placed five players in double figures on the night, led by three players with 17 points apiece - Vanlandingham, Jesse Wheeler and Brett Goodwell. Grant Domsic added 14 points off the bench and Chris Edwards chipped in 10 points. Barton was led by Dunn's 29 points and 14 rebounds, while Boston added 23 points and Mammel chipped in 14 points off the bench.
In the day's first game, Georgia College completed a perfect 2-0 mark in the Classic with a 32-point win over St. Augustine's. The Bobcats (7-2) shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half en route to building a 37-19 lead at intermission, then held the Falcons (1-7) to just 33 percent shooting from the floor during the entire game to notch the win.
Twelve different players scored for the Bobcats on the afternoon, led by Reece Wiedeman's 13 points. Nate Hamliton and Mike Augustine each chipped in 11 points for Georgia College. Matthew McMillan led the Falcons on the day with nine points and five rebounds.
The Pirates return to action on Monday, January 3, hosting Flagler in a Peach Belt Conference contest at 7:30 p.m. at Alumni Arena.
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