The Augusta University men’s basketball team advanced past the first stage of the Peach Belt Conference playoffs with a comeback win over Georgia Southwestern at Christenberry Fieldhouse on Tuesday, March 1.
It would be the third team the teams faced off this season, and the AU Jaguars won all three matchups. However, Tuesday night’s matchup made for anything but a clean sweep.
The Jaguars came out of the gate with typical defensive intensity that helped them to a 25-3 overall record this season. An unknowing viewer would have no idea which team was fighting to move on in the playoffs and which team was primed to host the entire Peach Belt tournament on their home floor.
Augusta’s standout big man Tyshaun Crawford fought through a swarm of Hurricane defenders to put up some of the first points of the game and a free throw to boot.
On the next possession, however, Crawford would get tangled up with the ‘Cane defenders and the visiting team took advantage of his absence by draining a long three on the other end of the floor. The score was 7-3 in favor of the Hurricanes before a Georgia Southwestern timeout.
After the break, the Hurricanes continued to pull away and were up 12-3 in a flash thanks to a few more successful shots from deep. The Jags’ shots simply were not falling to start the game regardless of the shooter.
For all the Jags’ toughness on defense, the quickness of the Hurricane lineup and their constant ball movement on offense was vital in penetrating and scoring on Augusta.
Augusta junior Miguel Arnold finally uncorked the scoring with a short jumper and defensive firecracker Darren Lucas-White secured a steal before being fouled on an attempted layup. The score was 14-10 in favor of the Hurricanes with 13 minutes left in the first half.
It was apparent early on that this would be one of the more aggressive matchups of the Jaguars’ season, as the Hurricanes seemed content to match the Jaguars intensity on both sides of the floor.
Augusta’s offensive struggles continued and frustration was creeping in. Shots were clanging off the rim and Augusta was down 23-14 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the half. The Hurricanes’ lineup was not letting up on defense and they continued to generate steals as the Jags struggled to move the ball effectively.
Tension bubbled over and Crawford netted his second personal foul of the game with nine minutes left in the half. It would have to be Timmy Sellers and freshman Ja’Queze Kirby picking up the slack for the now-benched big man.
Sellers did just that, sinking a long three to incite the Augusta crowd into a frenzy. The Hurricanes turned the ball over on the next possession, the Jaguars settled down for the first time after a chaotic first 12 minutes of play.
Crawford re-entered the game and immediately dished the ball to graduate student and team leader Troy Cracknell for a long three, cutting the deficit to eight.
Georgia Southwestern’s Jacorie Archie answered with a three of his own, also drawing a foul in the process. His successful attempts brought the Hurricanes’ lead back to 31-22.
Arnold began to heat up for the Jags as the first half wound down, sinking two free throws, a short jumper and a layup in rapid succession. The Jags’ offense was still off by their standards, but Arnold’s contributions before the half were vital to keeping AU within striking distance heading into the half. The Hurricanes led 38-30 at the break.
The Jags shot nine of 24 in the first half and only three of 10 from beyond the three-point line. The Hurricanes also notched six steals to the Jaguars’ three in the first half.
Both teams hit threes out of the half and the score was 43-34 in favor of Georgia Southwestern after a minute of second half play.
AU junior Tyree Myers followed suit, and the deficit was cut to eight. A Hurricane turnover led to a Troy Cracknell three with a made free throw to boot and the Jaguars were within four of the lead for the first time since the game’s opening minutes. Crawford banked in a tough layup for the Jags to pull within one, and Christenberry Fieldhouse was the loudest it had been all season by far.
Cracknell sank another three and the Jaguars led for the first time in the game with just under 15 minutes remaining. The graduate student had clearly found something in the locker room, and he hit a three for the third consecutive possession to bring the Jags up 48-45. He would score 11 straight points for the Jags after two more successful free throws.
David Viti broke Cracknell’s streak with a three of his own, and AU was up 53-48. He secured a steal on the next possession and Tyree Myers got the Jags up eight points on the Hurricanes. Darren Lucas-White then made a steal of his own and rocketed up the floor for a breakaway slam, extending Augusta’s lead to 10.
The Hurricanes were shaken up after the flurry of scoring and called a timeout to regroup with 11 minutes remaining.
Viti knocked down another three-pointer and Augusta was up 62-48. Crawford made one of his signature plays with a contested layup followed by a defensive block and rebound for the Jags.
Miguel Arnold sank another three to extend the lead to 16 and the Jaguars looked like a different team compared to their first half performance. Viti sank yet another three and the Jaguars cracked 70 points. On the Jags’ next possession, Viti made a contested reverse layup and chipped in a free throw to bring the Jags up 75-54.
Crawford reared his head in a big way in the second half after the early foul trouble that plagued him in the first period. He drew foul after foul in the paint as the Hurricanes struggled to defend his size, and he made his presence known on defensive rebounds and blocks time and time again as the game’s final minutes ticked down.
The final score was 89-66 in favor of the home team. Augusta outscored Georgia Southwestern 59-28 in the second half.
It was the leadership of Troy Cracknell and Miguel Arnold that got the comeback attempt started after the break, and Crawford contributed 15 points and eight rebounds in the second half to stabilize the Jags in the paint.
The Jaguars will host the remainder of the tournament on their home floor on March 4 and 5. Augusta’s next opponent is based on the remaining first round games and is yet to be determined.
