,       Monday, March 6, 2006

PRESBYTERIAN MEN‘S BASKETBALL FACES ARMSTRONG ATLANTIC
 IN FIRST ROUND OF THE NCAA DIVISION II TOURNAMENT
Blue Hose face Pirates on Saturday, March 11 at 12 noon

CLINTON, S.C. — The Presbyterian College men’s basketball team will be making return trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament this season after receiving an at-large bid to the 64-team field announced Sunday night by the NCAA. The Blue Hose (24-9) are seeded No. 7 in the 2006 South Atlantic Regional will take on the No. 2 seed, Armstrong Atlantic State University Pirates (23-7), on March 11 at 12 noon.

The 2006 South Atlantic Regional will be hosted by the defending NCAA Division II National Champions, Virginia Union University Panthers, on March 11-14, 2006 in Richmond, Va. The regional will be held at the 5,000-seat Arthur Ashe Center in Richmond.

The winner of the PC-AASU game will take on the winner of No. 3 seed Johnson C. Smith University  (23-7)/No. 6 seed Georgia College & State University (20-8) on Sunday, March 12 at 5:00 pm. JCSU and GCSU will meet at 2:30 pm on Saturday.

In the other side of the bracket, top seed Virginia University (25-3) will take on No. 8 seed Wingate University (18-12) at 6:00 pm, while No. 4 seed Columbus State University (22-8) will take on the No. 5 seed, USC Upstate (20-9) at 8:30 pm. The winners of those two games will meet on Sunday, March 12 at 7:30 pm. The region championship game is scheduled for Tuesday, March 14 at 7:00 pm.

Tickets for each session (2 games) are $12 for general admission and $7 for students.

The NCAA berth is the fourth in program history for Presbyterian who also made trips in 1996, 97, and 2003. The 2003 edition of the Blue Hose advanced to the “Sweet 16” before losing to Bowie State University 67-53.

The Blue Hose will see familiar opponents in this year’s South Atlantic Regional as PC has played four of the eight teams. PC and Armstrong Atlantic have already faced each other once this season back on December 17 in Savannah, Ga., with the Pirates winning 65-56. The Blue Hose have also faced the following South Atlantic Region selections this season: No. 5 seed USC Upstate, No. 6 seed Georgia College & State University, and No. 8 seed Wingate University. The Blue Hose are 3-4 against the South Atlantic Regional field this season.

2006 NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional Tournament (Richmond, Va.)

First Round – Saturday, March 11, 2006
Session #1
No. 2 seed Armstrong Atlantic St. University Pirates (23-7) vs. No. 7 seed Presbyterian College Blue Hose (24-9) — 12 noon

No. 3 seed Johnson C. Smith University Golden Bulls (23-7) vs. No. 6 Georgia College & St. University Bobcats (20-8) — 2:30 pm

Session #2
No. 1 seed Virginia Union University Panthers (25-3) vs. No. 8 Wingate University Bulldogs (18-12) — 6:00 pm

No. 4 seed Columbus State University Cougars (22-8) vs. No. 5 seed USC Upstate Spartans (20-9) — 8:30 pm 

Region Semifinals — Sunday, March 12, 2006
#2 AASU/#7 PC winner vs. #3 JCSU/#6 GCSU winner — 5:30 pm
#1 VUU/#8 WU winner vs. #4 CSU/#5 USC Upstate winner — 7:30 pm 

Region Championships — Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Championship Game — 7:00 pm