Augusta (26-5) will host Emmanuel (23-7) today at 5:00 p.m. in the NCAA Tournament Round of 64. The Jaguars earned the privilege of hosting the Southeast Region Tournament after winning their second consecutive Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championship and earning a No. 10 ranking in the final Division II National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll of the season.
Augusta’s game will be the third of four opening round matchups played at Christenberry Fieldhouse today. Two-seed UNC Pembroke (Conference Carolinas) finished the season ranked No. 8 and three-seed Lincoln Memorial (Southern Athletic Conference) finished No. 12 in the national poll.
Southeast Region Tournament Schedule
(at Augusta University)
Saturday’s Quarterfinals:
Noon – 3 Lincoln Memorial vs 6 Lander
2:30 – 2 UNC Pembroke vs 7 North Georgia
5:00 – 1 Augusta vs 8 Emmanuel
7:30 – 4 USCA vs 5 Catawba
Sunday’s Semifinals:
5:00 – 2/7 vs 3/6
7:30 – 1/8 vs 4/5
Tuesday’s Championship – 7:00 P.M.
Augusta’s matchup features two conference champions as Emmanuel, winner of sixteen straight games, captured the Conference Carolinas Tournament Championship last Sunday, the same day Augusta won the PBC crown. Saturday will mark the sixth time the teams have met in the last five seasons and the second time this year.
Augusta defeated Emmanuel 91-77 on New Year’s Eve in Augusta. Senior Arnold, a First Team All-Peach Belt Conference member, led the Jaguars in scoring with 26 points on 10 of 11 field goal shooting. Tyshaun Crawford, also a first team all league player, added 21 points. Sophomore Ja’Queze Kirby contributed 14 points and senior Darren Lucas-White chipped in 12.
Five players scored in double figures for Emmanuel, including KJ Jones (13 points), who currently leads the nation in scoring at 26.4 points per game. The 13 points he scored against Augusta was the only time this season Jones scored fewer than 19 points in a game.
Metress hopeful for a big crowd
During Monday’s taping of The Dip Metress Show, Augusta’s nineteen-year head coach commented on the team’s approach as NCAA Tournament play gets under way.
“What’s the next goal?” Metress started. “The next goal is not to win the region title. The next goal is to win on Saturday. Things move very quickly in March.”
Metress proceeded to describe how every team that made the NCAA Tournament is a threat, no matter the seed.
“The committee got the best eight teams in the (region) tournament,” Metress said. “What do we get? We get to play a team that’s won 16 games in a row. That’s unheard of. That’s why all of our focus is on Saturday. Let’s hope we can ‘be here now.’ This thing is… it’s a possession here, a possession there. This is the fun part.”
“Be here now” is the motto Metress has emphasized since the first practice of the season to persuade his players to ignore the chatter about making it all the way back to the national championship game, which is where last season ended for the Jaguars.
“Let’s get a lot of people there Saturday… It’s going to be important to be able to play that game,” Metress said about the home court advantage for Augusta. “Anybody that went to the Peach Belt Tournament quarterfinals knows… There was some good basketball being played. And the same will be true for the regionals. No question.”
Follow Chad Cook’s coverage of local sports on Facebook and Instagram at @AugustaPressSports, and on Twitter at @AugPressSports.
