By Carlos Rodriguez |
Special to the Bell Ringer
The Augusta University men's basketball team defeated Columbus State 89-65 in the quarterfinals of the Peach Belt Conference tournament Wednesday night, March 6, at Christenberry Fieldhouse. The win marks the 11th consecutive victory for the nationally ranked Jaguars (24-5).
The Jaguars will play fourth-seeded UNC Pembroke in the quarterfinals on Saturday, March 9, at 5 p.m. in Christenberry Fieldhouse. The Braves (21-8) beat Georgia College 105-81 on Wednesday night.
The CSU Cougars started off the first couple minutes of Wednesday night's game at AU with the lead, but would not hold on very long. Senior Deane Williams gave the Jags their first lead of the game off a three pointer with 15:32 remaining to put AU up 8-7. The Jags remained with the lead the rest of the half. Williams scored 10 first half points to lead the Jags at the half 36-32.
The Jags had strong second half performances from Williams, Junior Rafael Monteiro, and Freshman Miguel Arnold. Williams scored 16 second half points, Monteiro scored 13, and Arnold 12. The Jags went on a 12-0 run leading 54-40 with 11:56 remaining after Deane Williams converted an and-1 jumper.
Miguel Arnold knocked down two three pointers on back to back possessions increasing the Jags lead to 75-53 at the 5:47 mark. The Jags never looked back and maintain the lead as they outscored the Cougars 53-33 in the second half to secure the win.
AU was led by Williams, who finished with 26 points, seven rebounds, and shot 4-4 from three-point range. He had only made four three-pointers during the regular season. Rafael Monteiro finished with 20 points and nine rebounds while, Miguel Arnold added 15 points off of five-of-six three-point makes. Freshman guard Tyree Myers had eight points and eight assists.
AU shot 65 from three-point land and 57 percent overall, and the Jags only had seven turnovers, compared to 19 assists.
In the first half, the Jaguars had to scramble to build a 36-32 halftime advantage. The Cougars lead 7-4 at the first media timeout, but AU took the lead and built a 17-12 bulge on an Aaron Byrd jumper. The Jaguar lead grew to 30-23 on a Miguel Arnold three-point, but CSU closed the half on a 9-6 run to keep matters close.
Both teams shot 46.4 percent in the first half. AU's lead would have been bigger, but the Jags missed 6-of-11 free throws.
Jaguar Coach Dip Metress said the slow start was due to CSU's defensive scheme.
"Columbus used a triangle-and-two (defense) in the first half," Metress said. "That took a couple of our shooters out of the game. They did a nice job in the first half. They picked us apart."
CSU Coach Robert Moore said his game plan was to try to limit AU's outside shooting, which has been torrid in the latter stages of the season.
"We just took away their three-point shooting," Moore said. "We used a triangle-and-two, which we call 'Amoeba 22.' We play a lot of zone. I am have been playing Dip forever in tournament games, and we just felt like we could not let their three-point shooters get going."
In the second half, the Jaguars found their stride from outside and pulled away.
"They were all in rhythm tonight," Metress said of his three-point shooters, especially Arnold and sophomore Troy Cracknell with Williams giving a bonus for his rare big night from behind the arc.
Metress pointed to a key steal by Monteiro in the second half that gave AU a nine-point lead and forced Moore to call a timeout.
"When Rafa made that steal, everyone kind of took a deep breath," Metress said.
Columbus State (13-16) was led by DeMarcus McVay with 16 points.
The Jaguars are ranked 15th in the NCAA Division II SIDA poll and 24th in the coaches' poll.
In the other quarterfinals Wednesday night, third-seeded Francis Marion (21-7) beat Young Harris 96-88 and second-seeded USC Aiken (25-4) beat Lander 90-74. The winners will play at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
The women's semifinals and final will also be played at Christenberry this weekend. Lander (22-7) will face Columbus State (15-12) in one semifinal at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, and top-seeded North Georgia (25-4) will play Clayton State (21-8) in the other at noon. Lander set a PBC Tournament record for points in a 107-70 win over Francis Marion on Wednesday night.
The NCAA Division II national tournament selection announcements will be made Sunday night, March 10.
