The Augusta University Jaguars (12-1) ran the score up on the Young Harris Mountain Lions (3-10) on Saturday, Jan. 8 at Christenberry Fieldhouse.
The game was sloppy to start with both teams committing turnovers in the first two minutes of play.
AU graduate student Troy Cracknell sunk an early-three pointer to settle the team down before junior Miguel Arnold, AU’s leading scorer, racked up two three-pointers and a lay-up to get the Jags out in front by 10.
Freshman Ja’Queze Kirby got the crowd into the action after turning an underneath pass from junior Tyree Myers into a two-handed jam over the Mountain Lion men.
Young Harris sophomore Josh Petteno fired a long three for the Mountain Lions, but Cracknell and sophomore David Viti answered with two more three-pointers to keep the Jags’ double-digit lead intact. The score was 22-7 in favor of Augusta with 13 minutes left in the first half.
Junior TyShaun Crawford got involved when he converted an offensive rebound into a two-handed slam of his own, and Cracknell put yet another three-pointer on the board, prompting Young Harris to regroup with a timeout. The score was 27-7.
Cracknell was scorching from beyond the arc in the first half, knocking down a fourth trey and a free throw to boot with 11 minutes remaining in the half. Viti put another one through, and the score was 34-12.
While the Jags’ scoring was fast and furious, they didn’t let up on the defensive side of the floor. The physical trio of Crawford, Kirby and junior Darren Lucas-White kept the pressure on and made it nigh impossible for the Mountain Lions to penetrate the paint.
Myers lobbed up another sky-ball jam for Kirby, increasing the Jags’ lead to 26. The Mountain Lions simply didn’t have an answer for the Augusta’s combination of physical play and outside scoring on this day.
Kirby rained down a three to make the score 43-16, and some of AU’s bench players entered the game. Sophomore Timmy Sellers stuck with an off-the-rim three from David Viti and put it back. The Jags continued to irritate the Young Harris shooters on the other end of the floor.
The quickness of the Jags and their ability to move the ball to multiple strong shooters both short- and long-range is overwhelming for defenses; especially so for Young Harris’ more inexperienced lineup that features only two seniors.
David Viti knocked down a long three before recovering an errant ball from Young Harris. He dumped it off to Cracknell, who rocked the rim with a big slam as the first half ticked down. Miguel Arnold followed up with yet another three-pointer to make the score 61-26 at the half.
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It was more of the same in the second half, as Miguel Arnold fired a long three on the Jags’ opening possession. On the other end of the floor, Young Harris freshman Carl Cleveland missed his three-point try. That dynamic was the theme of the day.
Myers knocked down another three on Augusta’s next possession, and the score was 69-28.
In an otherwise uneventful game, Arnold made Jaguar history by becoming the school’s 30th 1,000-point scorer. The game was paused to recognize Arnold’s achievement. After the break, Arnold weaved through the Young Harris defenders to convert a contested layup. Back to work.
The Jags cracked 90 points on yet another Arnold three, and the Jags were up by 54 with nine minutes left to play.
The final minutes ticked down with relative inconsequence, clear that Augusta had outclassed Young Harris on this occasion. The final score was 112-58.
On his milestone day, Arnold led the team with 24 points. Cracknell was behind him with 21, converting four of six three point attempts.
Augusta University goes on the road to face Lander on Wednesday, Jan. 12 in Greenwood, S.C. Young Harris hosts Columbus State at 7:30 p.m. also on Wednesday, Jan. 12.
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com
