No. 12 Augusta topped Newberry 81-72 on the road Monday afternoon to improve to 10-1 before the Christmas break. Tyshaun Crawford led the Jaguars with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Darren Lucas-White added 16, Miguel Arnold chipped in 14 and David Viti added 13. Tyree Myers scored 6 points and dished 6 assists and Timmy Sellers scored 6 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and blocked 2 shots in only 12 minutes of action.
Crawford entered the game second in the nation in offensive rebounds with 4.4 per game, and second in free throw attempts at 9.9 per game. He continued the trend Monday with 6 offensive rebounds and 9 free throw attempts (he made 6). Crawford also drew 11 of the 17 fouls that Newberry committed.
Augusta’s 9 made three pointers (on 21 attempts) was the best outing of the season from the perimeter for the Jaguars. Viti made 4 of 5 from deep and Arnold made 4 bombs as well. The duo combined to make 6 three pointers during the second half, and at one point the Jaguars made 5 out of 6 three point attempts to stretch a 7-point lead to 15 at 72-57 with 4:41 remaining.
With star sophomore Ja’Queze Kirby still recovering from an ankle injury, the boost off the bench from Viti and Sellers came in handy in the win. When Sellers entered the game after the first media timeout, he grabbed offensive rebounds and scored on consecutive possessions. And Viti followed with a three pointer to tie the game at 13-13 with 11:30 left in the first half. A dunk by Sellers on the final possession of the first half gave Augusta a 34-27 lead.
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“Timmy Sellers and (David) Viti gave us a big lift in the first half,” head coach Dip Metress shared after the game. “Timmy came in and just rebounded the ball and gave us confidence to keep Newberry off the glass because they’re a very good rebounding team.”
Kirby picked up his third foul with 18:30 left in the game and Viti filled in wonderfully, making 3 three pointers in the next 8 minutes of game time to give Augusta a 52-42 lead with 11:08 remaining.
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“Viti obviously hit some shots,” Metress continued. “I thought he got hurt when he rolled his ankle in the first half. But he was big, making shots and stretching the defense out for us.”
Metress also praised Darren Lucas-White, who made 7 of 8 free throws while scoring 16 points.
“He played really well,” Metress added. “Took the ball to the basket. Had a couple finishes that were highlight level finishes in the first half. And he did a great job guarding one of their better perimeter players.”
Augusta’s players and coaches will break for Christmas before reassembling on December 27 to prepare for a New Year’s Eve showdown against Emmanuel at home at noon, the last non-conference game of the regular season for the Jaguars. When 2023 arrives, Augusta will play on the road against Georgia College on January 4, and then against Young Harris on December 7 before returning home to face Lander on December 11.
Follow Chad Cook’s coverage of local sports on Facebook and Instagram at @AugustaPressSports, and on Twitter at @AugPressSports
