Augusta returned home and defeated North Georgia 80-76 Wednesday in a battle between top 25 teams where the prize turned out to be sole possession of first place in the Peach Belt Conference standings. The Jaguars were led by 7’1” senior Tyshaun Crawford, who scored 23 points despite missing all but seven minutes of the first half due to foul trouble. Fellow senior Miguel Arnold, the conference’s all time leader in made three pointers, added 20 points and 5 assists in a brilliant display of scoring and play making.
Augusta, ranked No. 14 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Poll, improved to 18-3 overall and 9-2 in conference play. After playing in front of its home crowd only twice in January, the Jaguars have the privilege of hosting four of their first five games in February, with Georgia College visiting the Jaguars this Saturday for a special 2:00 P.M. tip-off to accommodate the soldiers who will be in attendance for Military Appreciation Day.
Top 25 Showdown
As the showdown began between two of the three teams that entered Wednesday tied for first in the conference standings, the crowd at Christenberry Fieldhouse buzzed in anticipation. Crawford, the PBC’s leading scorer, made two field goals in the first two minutes. But he was dinged with two questionable foul calls before more than three minutes ticked off the clock. Head coach Dip Metress was forced to sit Crawford, and North Georgia quickly took a 10-4 lead after Frank Champion, the conference’s leading rebounder and second leading scorer, cleared a defensive board and went coast to coast for a layup with 16:44 remaining.
Augusta responded with a 13-4 run that included three pointers by starters Tyree Myers, Ja’Queze Kirby, and Arnold. The spurt was punctuated with a triple by Chris Britt that gave Augusta a 17-14 lead with 12:43 left in the first half.
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Crawford checked back in at the 9:35 mark, and the lead grew to 6 after a pair of dunks by the returning Peach Belt Conference Co-Player of the Year. After North Georgia regained the lead with a run of their own, Crawford went back to the bench for the final four minutes of the first half.
Kirby made sure Augusta didn’t lose ground by burying back-to-back three pointers to give the Jaguars a 34-32 lead with 3:28 left in the first half. Kirby scored 11 of his 13 points before halftime, and he made 3 of 7 three point attempts to help Augusta stay within 1 point (39-38) of North Georgia at halftime.
Crawford’s return
Crawford played 18 minutes during the second half. He scored 13 points after halftime and he avoided fouling. The dominant lefty with a feather soft jump hook made 11 of 14 field goal attempts for the game and proved unstoppable during his 26 minutes of action. So did Arnold, who made 7 of his 11 field goal attempts (2 of 3 from deep). Arnold scored 13 of his 20 points in the second half.
Augusta takes control
Myers assisted Arnold on a three pointer from the left wing with 11:44 remaining to tie the game at 56. On the next possession, Myers made a long two to give Augusta its first lead of the second half. Later junior David Viti made a three pointer to give Augusta a 64-61 lead with 8:47 remaining. Then Viti made another bomb with 5:56 left to give the Jaguars a 71-67 lead. Crawford and Arnold then combined to score another 8 points to give Augusta its largest lead of the game at 79-69 with 3:04 remaining.
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North Georgia, who came into the game ranked No. 21, fell to 14-4 overall and 7-3 in conference play. The third team that was tied for the lead in the standings entering Wednesday was USC Aiken. But after Aiken’s 80-77 overtime loss to Columbus State last night, Augusta gained sole possession of first place in the conference with seven regular season games remaining. The regular season conference champion will secure home court advantage for the eight-team conference tournament that is scheduled for March 2, 3 and 5.
Follow Chad Cook’s coverage of local sports on Facebook and Instagram at @AugustaPressSports, and on Twitter at @AugPressSports.
