The Augusta University Jaguars knocked off the Columbus State Cougars 77-65 at Christenberry Fieldhouse Saturday, Jan. 15.
Columbus State had handed AU its first loss (62-73) when the teams played in Columbus on Dec. 20, and AU got its revenge on Saturday.
AU suffered its second loss of the season on the road at Lander (81-88) Jan. 12.
The Jags’ three strongest attributes — size, physicality, and speed — were tested by a Columbus State lineup that has those qualities as well.
The game started out with strong defensive play. TyShaun Crawford opened the scoring up for Augusta with a two dunks off offensive rebounds. Miguel Arnold, who eclipsed 1,000 career points in the Jags’ last home game, knocked down a three in between Crawford’s jams and the score was 7-1 before CSU called timeout at the 16:33 mark in the first period.
Arnold drove the paint again and Crawford was there to bail him out with a put-back after Arnold’s shot clanged off the rim.
The Cougars’ Hunter Preston got the better of Crawford on a short jumper to stop the bleeding, but Troy Cracknell fired back with a three to extend the Jags’ lead, 12-7.
Darren Lucas-White checked into the game and weaved through the paint for a lay-up with 10 minutes remaining in the half. After Timmy Sellers blocked a CSU shot, Lucas-White put up a long three on the next possession. The score was 19-12 in favor of AU.
Tyree Myers fired a three that bounced up and off the rim. Ja’Queze Kirby was there to jam it in.
Devan Porter-Wilson made an athletic lay up for the Cougars, but Kirby fired back a three. CSU’s Langston Gaither answered with an uncontested three. The score was 25-21 in favor of AU with six minutes in the half.
Porter-Wilson again put in a three and the game was within a point with five minutes left. Crawford drew a foul and banked in both free throws to extend the lead to three. Porter-Wilson struck again to bring the deficit to one; then CSU’s Hunter Preston fired a short jumper to put the Cougars in front for the first time in the game. The score was 30-27, CSU.
Kirby knotted the game back up with a corner three, but Porter-Wilson again put a short jumper in the hoop to put CSU back up two. Preston followed suit to make the score 34-30.
Porter-Wilson was on fire to close the half, and he put yet another corner three in the hoop to extend the CSU lead to seven before Kirby hit another corner three of his own to reduce the lead to four.
Lucas-White lobbed up a jam for Kirby to bring Augusta within two with a minute left in the half. Lucas-White did it himself on the Jags next possession and the score was 41-37 in favor of CSU at the half.
MORE: AU men improve to 12-1 after 112-58 rout of Young Harris
Kirby continued his sharp-shooting with another three in the second minute of play in the final half, but Gaither drew a foul on a short jumper and chipped in a free throw to boot. The score was 48-43, Columbus State.
Arnold threaded the needle for a three-pointer in a matchup that AU desperately needed his firepower. CSU led 51-48.
Kirby once again bailed out the Jags with a long three to tie the game at 51 with 15 minutes remaining.
Crawford had been kept quiet for much of the first half. Not so when he drew a foul while jamming a dunk with 14 minutes left in the game. The Jags had the lead again, 53-51.
Myers ran the patented “lob to Kirby” play again to massive success, and the freshman incited the crowd to a frenzy with a huge jam. The Jags were up two.
Columbus cut back in with a Nelson Haskin layup, but Cracknell fired a long three to put AU back in front, 65-63. Crawford then delivered a thunderous block and Myers converted an athletic layup on the other end of the floor to put the Jags up four.
Miguel Arnold only scored three points in the contest but made the play of the game when he stole a errant pass from Columbus State and delivered the ball to a surging Darren Lucas-White, who converted a breakaway lay-up to put the Jags up 69-63. That type of lead may as well have been 100 in a contest as contentious and physical as this one.
Crawford utilized his massive size to box out two CSU defenders on another close-quarters jam, and the score was 71-65 with 1:08 remaining.
CSU began fouling AU to gain extra possessions, but the plan backfired when Crawford knocked down his first two free throws and extended the Jags’ lead to eight. Tyree Myers did the same on the next attempt, and the Jags led by 10 with a minute left.
Darren Lucas-White then scored two more free throws and the Jags were up 12.
That would be the end of Columbus State’s comeback attempt, and the Jaguars clawed back from a halftime deficit to win the game 77-65, splitting the season series with CSU 1-1.
CSU’s shooting was stronger in the first half and the team had trouble getting open shots to fall down the stretch.
Ja’Queze Kirby was 4-6 from three and led the team in scoring with 18 points Crawford and Cracknell each had 15. Crawford also captured nine rebounds on a day that AU desperately needed his athleticism at the point of attack. Cracknell bested him with 12 rebounds, good for a double-double.
Augusta University is now 13-2 overall with a conference record of 3-2 while Columbus State is 11-4 and 3-3. AU hosts Georgia Southwestern at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan 19 and Columbus State faces Lander at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Columbus.
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com
