By Leeroy Francis Jr. |Sports editorThe Augusta University men's basketball team put on a historic performance on Monday afternoon, Jan. 21, setting a new Peach Belt Conference single-game record for points scored in a league tilt (previous was 128) and an AU record for the most points scored in a single game (previous 124) in a 134-93 against Young Harris at Christenberry Fieldhouse.The Jaguars (7-2, 11-4) started off the game hot behind the torrid shooting of senior Tyvez Monroe and freshman Miguel Arnold and the shot-stopping ability of senior Deane Williams.After extending their lead to 13 after a dunk in transition by Deane Williams, the floodgates opened for the Jaguars. The Mountain Lions press defense started to show cracks and Augusta found a way to score continuously, ultimately extending their lead to as much as 20 in the first half of play.The Jaguars finished the first half of play strong with Rafael Montiero grabbing his fifth offensive rebound (the teams 10 total in the first half) and a scoring his 15th point on a putback to give the Jaguars a 16 point 56-40 halftime advantage.Three of the five Jaguars starters scored in double digits in the contest with junior Rafael Montiero leading the way with 15 points and five rebounds. Seniors Tyvez Monroe and Deane Williams added 12 and 10 points respectively and added a combined seven assists in the half.In the second half, it started a with an offensive onslaught by Augusta senior Tyvez Monroe. With 12 in the first half, Monroe opened the second half scoring four early points for the Jaguars in the opening 30 seconds of play. After the quick four points, Monroe scored ten of the next twelve Jaguars points (14 of the first 16 points for the Jaguars) to blow the lead up to 25 with still 17:40 left in the game 72-47.With 9:43 left in the game, after a three-pointer by sophomore Troy Cracknell, the buzz around Christenberry Fieldhouse started to grow about the Jaguars' all-time record of points scored in team history and with 1:50 left in the game sophomore guard Jerod Carrier hit a jumper to surpass the previous mark of 124 by the Jaguars in 1999.With 1:05 left in the contest, freshman Alex Johnson hit two free throws to make the score 130-85 and surpass the 128 point mark of most points scored in a Peach Belt Conference game (128 by USC-Spartanburg vs. Columbus College, February 25, 1991) The Jaguars added four more points in the final minute to seal the 41-point victory 134-93.Monroe led the way with a career-high 32 points, and Monteiro added 26 points and six rebounds. Arnold had 16 points, Deane Williams added 12 points and 11 rebounds, Aaron Byrd carded 12 points and Troy Cracknell netted 10. Williams had several monstrous dunks."I don't know why they kept trapping us," Monroe said. "We shoot too good. They kept trapping us, and we kept getting wide-open shots all night."AU shot 66 percent and outrebounded the Mountain Lions 45-17."I think it was a good game," Monteiro said. "We played well collectively."
Jaguars’ Coach Dip Metress was very satisfied with how the Jaguars performed in the blowout win."We executed our game plan," Metress said. "You heard me yell all night, "Shoot a layup; shoot a layup.' We knew they were going to press us, and you can't get jump-shot happy."AU, now 8-1 at home this season, saw everybody score, and backups Alex Johnson and Shawn Moss had eight and seven points, respectively.For Young Harris (7-3, 10-8), the leader was Alphonso Willis with 22 points. Ryle Owens chipped in 16 points.In the women's game, Augusta held on for a 65-64 win."We talked about playing smarter," said AU Coach Millette Green after her team's second win in three games. "My freshmen are maturing. I have some upperclassmen stepping up."One of those is Kaela Patrick, who scored 17 in the win over Young Harris. Cameryn Wilson added 16 and Brianna Middleton chipped in 12.Green said the third quarter was key, as the Jaguars (2-7, 3-12) held Young Harris (1-10, 3-14) to just four points. Augusta finished with 11 steals.Both AU teams will play at Francis Marion on Wednesday, Jan. 23. The women open play at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men at 7:30.
Contact Leeroy Francis at lfrancis@augusta.edu