No. 6 Augusta topped Georgia Southwestern 66-60 Wednesday in Americus, Georgia behind 22 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks by 7’1” senior center Tyshaun Crawford. Senior Miguel Arnold scored 17 points, and sophomore Ja’Queze Kirby added 14 points and 8 rebounds. The Jaguars won their eleventh straight game and improved to 16-1 overall and 7-0 in Peach Belt Conference action.
Augusta held a lead as large as 13 points in the second half. But the Jaguars had to withstand an 11-1 run by the Hurricanes (8-7, 2-5) during the final 5 minutes to pull out their fourth road win of the month.
“It’s very good to get a win,” said head coach Dip Metress in a post game telephone interview. “We missed some free throws. We didn’t shoot it well. But to get a road win in our league we’re very happy.”
Augusta made only 14 of 22 from the line, but the Jaguars exploited their advantage in the paint by shooting more than three times the free throws Georgia Southwestern attempted (7). Crawford, the returning Peach Belt Conference Co-Player of the Year, drew 12 fouls and made 8 of 13 free throws himself. The Jaguars out rebounded the Hurricanes 42-30. The advantage on the glass showed on the game’s most important possession when Augusta needed to close the door on Georgia Southwestern’s late run.
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Halting Their Momentum
After senior Darren Lucas-White beat the shot clock with a long two-pointer with 4:20 remaining to give Augusta a 61-49 lead, the Jaguars went 4 minutes without scoring a field goal. An 11-1 run by Georgia Southwestern shrunk Augusta’s lead to two points before sophomore Ja’Queze Kirby rebounded a miss by Crawford and put it back to give Augusta a 64-60 cushion with 21.6 remaining.
“It was a little chaotic, and we went inside,” Metress said of the deciding play. “We ran a play to get Tyshaun the ball. Kirby did a great job of hustling and getting an offensive rebound.”
Kirby scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, including 5 in the first 90 seconds of action when Augusta broke open a 28-28 halftime tie and took a 36-28 lead with 18:30 remaining. Arnold started the spurt with a three pointer on the first possession of the half. Then Kirby made another triple on the next trip on offense. Finally senior Tyree Myers stole a pass and then had his layup attempt blocked. But Lucas-White tracked down the rebound in the corner and slung a side arm pass with his left hand to Kirby for a layup.
Later in the half, Myers and Kirby made back-to-back threes to give Augusta a 54-41 lead with 8:14 left in the game.
Augusta shot only 41% from the field and 26% from the three point line. But Crawford’s dominance in the paint, Kirby’s strong second half, and the team’s extra effort in defending and pursuing “50/50 balls” made the difference, according to Metress.
“In the first half, I told our team we didn’t get the 50/50 balls, but not because of effort,” Metress said. “It was because the ball bounced the wrong way. I said to keep giving the same effort and we’ll get those.
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“Our effort was good enough. We didn’t shoot it great,” Metress continued. “Tyshaun was very dominant down the stretch. It was a great team effort. Kirby played really well. Played through contact. It was a great win to get on the road.”
Augusta moved up from No. 9 to No. 6 in this week’s edition of the National Association of Basketball Coaches rankings. The Jaguars will return to Augusta to host Flagler (8-10, 2-5) Saturday at 3:30 P.M.
Augusta has played four of their five Peach Belt Conference games in January away from home. And after this Saturday’s Flagler game, the Jaguars will hit the road for two more away games before returning home on February 1.
“We only have one back at home and then we go back on the road for two more before the end of the month,” Metress said as the team loaded the bus for a 4-hour trip home last night. “So we’re excited to get to play at home Saturday against Flagler.”
Follow Chad Cook’s coverage of local sports on Facebook and Instagram at @AugustaPressSports, and on Twitter at @AugPressSports.
