Augusta University junior Miguel Arnold sank a three-pointer with two seconds left to help the Jaguars topple Queens 77-76 for the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship at Christenberry Fieldhouse Tuesday, March 15.
AU head coach Dip Metress said after the game, “I don’t think I’ve ever won a game on a three-point shot at the buzzer. I’ve been coaching a long time but I don’t ever remember winning that way.”
The two 30-3 teams did battle for an Elite Eight berth in the NCAA Tournament for Division II, the remainder of which takes place in Evansville, Ind. The Jaguars were fifth-ranked in the nation leading up this Sweet Sixteen matchup, playing host to the fourth-ranked Queens Royals. The Charlotte-based Royals ousted Augusta from the tournament in 2019 on their home floor.
Both the Jags and Royals could not have arrived to this championship rematch any hotter. Both were on 17-game win streaks at the tipoff.
The Royals started the game just as feisty on defense as they were in the 2019 matchup. Man-to-man defense was their strategy from the tip. Queens got a steal and layup off an Augusta bobble, and the Jags started the game in the hole, a familiar place for them.
Arnold bailed the Jags out with a steal and breakaway layup and the game was tied 7-7 with 15:39 remaining in the first half.
Troy Cracknell scored the Jags’ first three-pointer of the game, and the packed house erupted for the home team.
Darren Lucas-White sank a free throw and the Jags had their first lead of the night, 13-12 with 13:32 remaining in the first period. Queens’ Kenny Dye made an athletic field goal for the Royals to regain the lead.
Augusta’s star big man Tyshaun Crawford reared his head at the midpoint of the first half, muscling over Royals defenders for a big slam. Queens kept answering back with mid-range jumpers on the other end of the floor and kept the Augusta lead to one.
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The Jaguars weren’t penetrating the paint effectively in the first half, but Tyree Myers slalomed his way through the Royals defense for a layup attempt that Crawford put back as the shot clock expired. The play went under review and the officiating crew wiped the points off the board and charged AU with a shot clock violation.
The Royals sank a three, and Crawford made the waved-off points back with a put-back slam. The Jags trailed 36-32 at the half.
The perimeter shooting for Augusta was 3-9 in the first half, a familiar statistic throughout the Jags’ season. Crawford paced the team in minutes (18:25) and points (nine) in the first half. Timmy Sellers, one of Augusta’s three big men along with Crawford and freshman stud Ja’Queze Kirby, injured his knee in the Peach Belt Tournament and was unable to fill in the gaps in this content.
Kirby opened the second half with a long three and Jamari Smith hit a jumper of his own to keep Queens up 40-35. Time and time again, Kirby kept the Jaguars’ wheels on the track in a game where the momentum seemed to shift by each minute off the clock.
The Jags continued to look stiff on offense, and there was limited ball movement amongst the Augusta lineup. The Royals’ tough defense kept the home team locked up all game long. Even still, Kirby hit another three to keep Augusta in the chase. The Jags were down 39-42 with 15:17 remaining in the game.
Matching Queens’ physicality was the only way for Augusta to keep pace, and Arnold drove in for an aggressive jumper to bring the deficit to one. Queens’ big man Mike Fowler drew a foul on Crawford, but missed both free throws.
Kirby noticed a weakness in the Royals’ defense and drove in for a slam of his own. The Jags were driving the paint effectively for the first time all game. Crawford bumped Fowler for a layup and Augusta had gotten on top 45-44 with 13:34 remaining.
Queens’ Jamari Smith sank an open three to edge the Royals back in front, but Crawford drew a foul and banked in both to tie the game yet again. Back and forth they went with 11 minutes remaining.
Smith sank another three and Queens was up 54-49 in a flash. Lucas-White earned two back with a layup dished over from Crawford.
Smith, Queens’ leading scorer on the season, jammed the ball in over Crawford. Cracknell’s three-point attempt clanged off the rim, but Kirby swooped in from the paint for a put-back slam. Augusta trailed 54-60 with seven minutes remaining.
Myers netted a long three-pointer, and Arnold made a steal on the other end of the court and chipped in two free throws. One-point game. Arnold made another steal and dumped it off to Crawford for a monster dunk, inciting the home crowd into frenzy.
“We wanted to host this game here,” Metress said after the game. “Getting the home court is absolutely huge. There is always a few times in the game where the home crowd helps you, and that happened four or five times today.”
The crowd put wind in Arnold’s sails, and he made another short jumper to pull Augusta ahead by one.
Cracknell again was off with a layup and Kirby bailed him out again with a soaring put-back to extend the Jags lead to three. The crowd was at full throat, and Queens called a timeout to regroup with 4:57 left in the game.
Jamari Smith went to the line and sank both the bring the Royals within one. Myers then went back to the line and sank both. On August’s next offensive possession, Myers drilled a three. The Jags had their biggest lead of the game, up 70-66 with three minutes left.
Cracknell was fouled on a layup attempt and sank both shots. The Augusta lead was five. Queens’ knight in shining armor, Jamari Smith, sank an ice cold three from the corner and Queens trailed by two with 2:31 remaining.
Crawford took a trip to the line after being fouled at the rim and he converted one shot. AU was back up by three. Smith pulled Queens within one after two successful free throws. Smith was up to 30 points on the night, nearly half of the Royals’ production on offense.
Smith scored another layup and AU trailed by one in the final minute of play. Crawford was fouled while attempting to drive to the basket. With thirty-eight seconds left, Augusta’s star center made one of two free throws to tie the game at 74.
The crowd chanted for defense as the Royals made their methodical approach on offense. What seemed like an hour ticked by as Kenny Dye dribbled at half-court, milking the clock down. Dye drove the paint and evaded Crawford for a go-ahead layup. Queens led by two with 8.3 seconds remaining. Augusta called timeout.
Myers inbounded the ball and sprinted down the court, met with pressure. He dished it to Arnold, who swung around to the three point-line. Arnold leapt and took his shot. Time stood still. Arnold sank the three and the clock hit zero.
Christenberry Fieldhouse erupted and the home fans stormed the court, surrounding Arnold and the rest of the Jaguar squad.
Neither team led by more than six points the entire game, a testament to the quality of both squads.
In the 2019 matchup, Augusta’s shots simply would not fall and the athletic, lightning-fast Royals lineup proved too much for a less experienced Jaguars squad.
This time, however, Tyshaun Crawford and Ja’Queze Kirby were on the Jaguars’ roster. That pair would be the difference in the most back-and-forth game Augusta played all season. Kirby led the team with 20 points and contributed countless instinctual plays that kept Augusta close with Queens.
Crawford’s presence in the paint was unmatched by anyone in the conference all season long, and his 19 points and seven rebounds were vital in Augusta’s comeback.
On advancing to the Elite Eight, Metress said, “The only thing I’ve learned from being in this position before is that those teams you face up there are no better than the teams you face all year. We’re gonna figure all that out and we’re getting right back to practice on Friday.”
The Elite Eight matchups will take place on Tuesday, March 22, with the championship game tipping off on Saturday, March 26.
Tyler Strong is a contributor to The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com
