Nineteen-year head coach Dip Metress joined us Thursday morning for the latest episode of his weekly YouTube show. The taping came hours after No. 20 Augusta’s thrilling road win over No. 19 North Georgia Wednesday night that kept alive Augusta’s hopes for a conference championship heading into Saturday’s regular season finale.
Saturday’s Peach Belt Conference round of games will determine the conference champion. Augusta (22-5, 13-4), North Georgia (20-5, 13-4) and USC Aiken (20-7, 13-4) all have a chance to clinch the championship and gain the privilege of hosting next week’s conference championship tournament.
USC Aiken will be the champion if it defeats North Georgia at home Saturday. Augusta will take the crown if USC AIken loses and Augusta tops Clayton State (3-24, 1-16). And North Georgia can clinch if Augusta loses and North Georgia defeats USC Aiken.
Homecoming and Senior Day for Augusta
In addition to the game’s high stakes, Augusta University fans can look forward to Saturday’s Homecoming celebration as well as the Senior Day festivities that will honor four of the most accomplished Jaguars in program history.
MORE: No. 20 Augusta tops No. 19 North Georgia after one-of-a-kind game winner by Tyshaun Crawford
7’1″ senior center Tyshaun Crawford is a candidate for the Bevo Francis Award, which is given annually to the nation’s best small college basketball player. Crawford leads the PBC in scoring with 21.6 points per game, and he is the returning Co-Player of the Year in the conference. Crawford is second in the league in rebounds per game (8.3) and he leads the PBC in field goal percentage (67.2%) and blocks per game (2.1).
Crawford made the play of the season so far for the Jaguars to clinch Wednesday’s 72-71 road win over North Georgia by stealing an inbound pass from the inbounder with 2.5 seconds remaining before being fouled and making the game winning free throw.
Fellow seniors Miguel Arnold, Tyree Myers and Darren Lucas-White are nearly as decorated as Crawford. And they’ve also earned one more conference championship than their teammate because they were key members of Augusta’s 2019 championship team as freshmen the year before Crawford arrived. The trio has won more than 100 games, two PBC championships, and a Southeast Region championship in less than four full seasons playing together.
Arnold, the all time leader in three pointers made for the school and the conference, is third in the Peach Belt in scoring (17.7 ppg), first in three pointers made per game (2.9) and second in three point percentage (41.3%).
Myers, the all time leader in assists for the school and the conference, leads the Peach Belt in assists per game (4.4). And Lucas-White, who surpassed 1,000 points for his career earlier this season, is fifth in the conference in steals.
The seniors who will be recognized for Augusta Saturday reflect a recent nationwide theme for college basketball that has seen considerably older and more experienced players as the leaders of the best teams. Former Augusta University Athletic Director and Men’s Basketball Head Coach Clint Bryant has discussed the phenomenon in detail during the first four episodes of The (New) Clint Bryant Show.
MORE: Sports Squad: Panel discusses Augusta University sports and the Super Bowl
During Episode 4 (above), Bryant talks about the “ultra competitive” college basketball season nationally. And he relates the enthusiasm for the sport amongst fans and students to the thrilling Peach Belt Conference race that we are witnessing locally.
Follow Chad Cook’s coverage of local sports on Facebook and Instagram at @AugustaPressSports, and on Twitter at @AugPressSports.
