Wednesday, January 05, 2011

MACON, Ga. – An eight-day span that features 40 Atlantic Sun Men’s and Women’s Basketball conference contests returns 10 games on Wednesday. Mercer, Kennesaw State, Campbell, Stetson and FGCU host doubleheaders beginning at 5 p.m. All Atlantic Sun basketball conference games air on ASun.TV.

The slate begins at 5 p.m with four games on the women’s side. Kennesaw State hosts ETSU, Stetson welcomes Belmont to the Edmunds Center and USC Upstate travels down I-75 to face Mercer. At 5:15 UNF makes its final trip to Buies Creek, N.C. facing Campbell and in a meeting of a surprise conference unbeaten, Lipscomb, faces a not-so-surprising unblemished FGCU.

While the coaches tabbed the Eagles the preseason favorite, the Lady Bisons checked in at 11th, last, in the same poll. However, after a thrilling, one-point overtime win at Stetson, the Lady Bisons improved to 3-0 in A-Sun play for the first time since the 2004-05 season. They face a daunting challenge if they want to improve to 4-0 as the Eagles own a 29-game home winning streak. FGCU enters the contest No. 3 in the CollegeInsider.com Women’s Basketball Mid-Major Top 25 and as one of four undefeated teams remaining in the nation, joining Duke (14-0, No. 3 AP ), West Virginia (14-0, No. 6 AP) anc UNC (13-0, No. 8).

Men’s action tips at 7:15 in DeLand, Fla., with Belmont facing Stetson. Bruins’ head coach Rick Byrd eyes win 500 at the program. With his next victory, he will join Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, Syracuse's Jim Boeheim, Connecticut Jim Calhoun and Sacred Heart Coach Dave Bike as the only active coaches with 500 wins at one school. The Bruins enter at 11-3, 3-0 in the league and No. 21 in CollegeInsider.com Men’s Basketball Mid-Major Top 25. Stetson looks to complete the Nashville sweep. The Hatters took down Lipscomb, 76-66, on Monday.

The remaining four Wednesday A-Sun men’s matchups begin at 7:30 p.m. Campbell hosts UNF; ETSU faces Kennesaw State in a 2010 General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Championship semifinal rematch; Lipscomb looks to end a three-game slide with a contest at FGCU and Mercer entertains USC Upstate. The Bears’ last three home games, against Georgia, Charlotte and ETSU have been decided by a total of five points.

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts five of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.