After winning eleven of the season’s first twelve games, it will be Peach Belt Conference play the rest of the way for No. 10 Augusta, who will travel to Georgia College (4-7, 0-2) Wednesday before making the longer trip to Young Harris (11-0, 2-0) Saturday. Augusta (11-1, 2-0) won its first two conference games at home in December over Georgia Southwestern and Columbus State as 7’1” senior center Tyshaun Crawford averaged 28 points and 9 rebounds during the stretch.
Since then Augusta finished non-conference play with three more wins to close out 2022 on a six-game winning streak. The most recent victory came on New Year’s Eve when Augusta topped Emmanuel 91-77 behind 26 points (10-11 shooting) from senior Miguel Arnold.
“Defense travels.”
This senior led bunch has played a much more difficult non-conference schedule than last season’s group, which became the school’s all time winningest team on its way to a conference championship, a trip to the Elite Eight and a national runner up finish. The average margin of victory in non conference games this season was 9.1 points per game, compared to 26.6 last season.
But even though this team has been tested, nineteen year head coach Dip Metress has emphasized the added difficulty of conference games, especially those away from home. On Tuesday morning he stressed the importance of playing solid defense this week when the Jaguars hit the road.
“Defense travels,” Metress remarked. “So hopefully we’ll bring it in these games coming up.”
Augusta benefitted from having two dynamic defenders in the starting lineup Saturday against Emmanuel when senior Darren Lucas-White and sophomore Ja’Queze Kirby combined to hold KJ Jones, who came into the game leading the nation in scoring (26.9 ppg), to 13 points on 3-11 shooting. It was the first time Jones, who had scored 41 and 39 points in recent outings, had been held under 20 points all season. Jones finished with 5 turnovers as Kirby made 5 steals and Lucas-White added two more.
MORE: Arnold Leads Hot Shooting Jaguars to a Comeback Victory over Emmanuel
Arnold, the game’s offensive star after scoring 21 points in the second half to turn a 10-point deficit into a runaway win, credited Lucas-White and Kirby for changing the complexion of the game after Emmanuel buried 8 three pointers in the first half to take a 45-38 lead into the locker room.
“They changed the whole perspective of the game,” Arnold said immediately after the win. “We weren’t getting stops at the beginning. And they turned it around. Darren, on the first play of the second half, he got on the floor (for a loose ball). I believe that changed the whole game. Those guys just turned everything around for us.”
Lucas-White (12 points and 4 offensive rebounds) and Kirby (14 points and 5 rebounds) were two of four Jaguars who scored in double figures in the win. But Kirby took special pride in his contribution on the defensive end.
“I couldn’t really get it going offensively,” Kirby said after the game. “So I just tried to get defensive stops, blocks, whatever I could just to benefit the team and help the team get a w(in).”
“We like each other.”
Crawford added 21 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 assists against Emmanuel. Crawford is averaging 21.3 points and 9.6 rebounds while shooting 71% for the season. He ranks in the top 5 nationally in field goal percentage, offensive rebounds, free throws made and free throws attempted.
The sizzling start to the season for the 7’1” center of attention underscores another strength for the Jaguars that should travel nicely: the unselfishness of the players and their desire to help each other succeed. Crawford received the ball deep in the post on 29 of the 44 offensive possessions he was in the game for Saturday.
Even though he led the team in scoring that day, Arnold shot only two times in the first half. But you can tell by his post game comments that nobody is keeping track of his points or shots.
“We’ve been together for a long time,” Arnold said. “We like each other. On and off the court we have a great relationship. That’s something that we don’t have trouble with. So I hope it keeps being like that honestly.”
Arnold has been in the program for six seasons, counting a redshirt year his freshman season and a year on the sidelines due to COVID in 2020-21. Tyree Myers has been the starting point guard for five seasons, as he and Lucas-White, also in his fifth year, received an extra season of eligibility due to COVID. Crawford is playing his fourth season in Augusta after transferring from Georgia Southern.
Augusta will likely need all the defensive effort and all of the teamwork its veteran bunch can muster this week. Metress talked about the road trip to play-by-play announcer Charles McNeil after Saturday’s win.
MORE: The Dip Metress Show with Special Guest Tyree Myers
“In order to win the (Peach Belt) regular season title, you have to win your home games,” Metress said. “And you have to win as many as you can on the road. I don’t think there’s a team that enjoys beating us more than Georgia College. I don’t know what it is. But when they’re able to beat us they’re very happy.”
Augusta has been perfect against the Bobcats during the past two seasons, but Georgia College did take two of three, including an upset win in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament, against Augusta during the 2019-20 season. That was the first season Crawford, Myers, Arnold and Lucas-White all played together. Metress told McNeil that they all surely remember those results.
And Young Harris, which enters 2023 undefeated, was recently added to the national rankings at No. 18. So if both No. 10 Augusta and Young Harris win Wednesday, Saturday’s game in Young Harris will attract national attention.
Follow Chad Cook’s coverage of local sports on Facebook, and Instagram at @AugustaPressSports, and on Twitter at @AugPressSports
