USC Aiken eliminated Augusta from the NCAA Tournament Sunday with an 84-77 road win that set up a Southeast Region Championship matchup against Lincoln Memorial Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. at Augusta University’s Christenberry Fieldhouse.
Karon Boyd slammed home an 84-77 win for USC Aiken over Augusta in tonight’s NCAA Tournament Second Round game. The Pacers will face Lincoln Memorial Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. in the Southeast Region championship game. pic.twitter.com/hWrjetTfR0
— Augusta Press Sports (@AugPressSports) March 13, 2023
Tyler Johnson scored 14 points to lead five Pacers in double figures. Tehree Horn scored 16 points, Karon Boyd added 15, Jaylen McCoy contributed 14 and Jameel Rideout chipped in 13. USC Aiken made 60% of its field goal attempts and 58.3% of its three point tries.
Augusta was paced by senior Tyree Myers, who scored 20 points on 8-11 field goal shooting and 3 of 5 three point shooting. Also in double figures for Augusta were fellow seniors Miguel Arnold (17 points) and Tyshaun Crawford (15), and junior Ja’Queze Kirby (13).
Augusta’s nineteen-year head coach Dip Metress commended his highly accomplished group of four seniors (Myers, Arnold, Crawford and Darren Lucas-White) during a reflective post game press conference. Metress said he wanted to bring the four long time Jaguars to the podium, but they were “broken up” in the locker room after playing their final game together.
Myers, Arnold and Lucas-White joined the Jaguars as freshmen for the 2018-19 season and immediately helped the Jaguars earn a Peach Belt Conference championship. The trio, along with Crawford, who joined the group the following season, won two more conference championships together during their last two seasons. The foursome also earned a Southeast Region Championship and an NCAA Tournament Runner-Up finish last season.
Myers, Arnold and Lucas-White won an astonishing 109 games combined during their four seasons together.
Devoted Jaguar fans will enjoy listening to Metress talk about his four seniors at this link:
https://www.pbcsportsnetwork.com/
Metress said Myers apologized to him when Sunday’s loss became inevitable. Of course Metress replied that it was he who wanted to apologize to his captain for not putting him in better position to win.
Metress commended Arnold and Lucas-White for being on track to become the first people in their families to graduate from college. He referred to Arnold’s growth as a player during his time in Augusta and to Lucas-White being the ultimate teammate. Finally, Metress reflected on Crawford’s development as a person and as the player who became the most dominant force in Division II basketball after three seasons with the Jaguars.
