By Khadijah Sandifer |ContributorThe Augusta University men’s basketball team split a pair of games as the Jaguars opened the season at the 45 Second Classic in Wilson, N.C., on Nov. 9 and 10.They opened the 2018-19 campaign on Friday night, defeating Mount Olive 77-73. On Saturday afternoon, the Jaguars lost to Barton 89-72 in a game that was tight through the first half.On Friday, Augusta, which had upset South Carolina in a preseason exhibition, started the game off slowly, falling behind in the first five minutes of the game. Then the Jags went ahead with 15:25 left in the half on a Rafael Monteiro layup bringing the score to 11-10 in favor of AU. After a 13-13 tied, the Jaguars proceeded to take the lead once again and keep it. Despite a technical foul on Tyvez Monroe, AU ended the half ahead 36-28.The Jaguars made 15-of-35 shots from the field in the opening 20 minutes. They made a trio of three-pointers.In the second half, Williams opened play with a dunk as the Jags spurted to a sizable lead over Mount Olive. The Jaguars’ biggest lead was 54-39 with 13:43 left to play.With a little over a minute left in the game Mount Olive made a tremendous comeback, cutting the lead to 74-71 with 1:15 left to play. The Jags were able to maintain the lead and win the game, making the final score 77-73.Augusta shot 47.5 percent from the field, 29.4 percent from the three-point line and 61.5 percent from the free throw line. The Jags leading scorers were Monroe with 18 points, including all six of his free throw attempts, and both Tyree Myers and Williams with 15 points. Myers had seven assists. Mount Olive was led by Alan Treakle with 17 points and Jonathan Mebane with 16. The Trojans shot 40 percent for the game.On Saturday, Barton shot nearly 56 percent from the field and held AU to 39 percent. That essentially was the difference in the game."Barton got off to a quick lead and they have a very veteran group that has played together for a few years," AU Coach Dip Metress said. "Barton was able to get to the rim and finish numerous shots."The Bulldogs led 44-40 at halftime but pulled away in the second half. Williams led the Jaguars with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and Monroe added 19 points, including six three-pointers. Myers had nine points and five assists. Barton also held a 40-32 edge on the boards.Up next for Metress's AU team is an outing at Augusta city rival Paine College on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m."As we prepare for Paine College, we can build on many things from the tournament," Metress said. "First off, we feel that Mt. Olive and Barton are teams that will be in the top of there conference, and this is important for the long season ahead."