By Carlos Rodriguez |
Special to the Bell Ringer
The Augusta University men's basketball team defeated USC Aiken 93-86 in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championship Sunday at Christenberry Fieldhouse. The win pushes the Jags' win streak to 13. Senior Deane Williams led the way with 23 points and 11 rebounds en route to being named tournament MVP.
After Sunday's results, the NCAA Division II Tournament field was announced. The second-seeded Jaguars (26-5) will play seventh-seeded Francis Marion (21-8) in the first round on Saturday, March 16, in Charlotte, N.C. AU swept the Patriots in the regular season.
USC Aiken (26-5), seeded third, drew Lenoir-Rhyne (21-10), while UNC Pembroke (21-9), seeded fifth, will play Catawba (23-7). The top seed in the region is host Queens University (28-4), which will play Emmanuel (25-9). Saturday's game times have not be determined.
On Sunday, Junior Rafael Monteiro scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Freshman Tyree Myers recorded 15 points, five steals and four assists. Senior Tyvez Monroe and Sophomore Troy Cracknell had 11 points each.
AU started the game off hot and never looked back, jumping off to a 10-0 lead after Rafael Monteiro made a shot with 18:03 remaining. Monteiro converted third and-1 shot of the half at the 10:00 mark increasing the Jags lead to 29-15. At 6:56 the Pacers had closed the gap to 31-28 off a three pointer from Ty'lik Evans who led Aiken with 26 points. Sophomore Troy Cracknell gave the Jags their biggest lead of the 47-32 off a three pointer with 1:07 remaining. AU would end the half leading 47-37 behind strong efforts from Monteiro who had 16 points and Cracknell with 11.
In the second half, foul trouble became a problem for the Jags as forwards Williams and Monteiro had to sit for some minutes and eventually Monteiro fouled out. AU led the whole game despite a late run by the Pacers who cut the lead to 86-82 off of free throw makes from Evans with 1:25 remaining. Freshman Darren Lucas-White sealed the game for the Jags with two free throw makes with 26 seconds remaining.
Williams and Monteiro were named all-tourney. Williams credited his teammates for all his achievements this season.
"They put me in a good position to score and play defense. I give credit to them too," said Williams. "When you have a good team, it makes things a lot easier for you."
AU Coach Dip Metress tried to put the current Jaguar run into perspective.
"When we lost in December to North Georgia, I sure didn't think we would be sitting here like this," Metress said. "We were a bad team early in December. But we changed some things up. It's good to have good players."
Metress believes it was a good team effort Sunday.
"Like I said they've liked each other all year and that helps a lot," he said.
Pacers' Coach Mark Vanderslice had to switch up the defense due to foul trouble.
"Our adjustments were a little different," said Vanderslice. "We tried to release some of that tension by going 2-3."
The Pacers were led by Ty'lik Evans with 26 points, Xzavier Barmore 21 and Faison Brock with 19.
The Jaguars shot 59 percent and held the Pacers to 46 percent.
AU surged to a 47-37 halftime lead behind Monterio's 16 points and 11 from Cracknell. The Pacers had serious foul trouble with Doniel Dean with three and Evans with two.
The Pacers went to a 2-3 zone, and it caused the Jaguars problem until Cracknell got going with a pair of corner jumpers.
"Tonight was a tough loss," said Vanderslice."Augusta executed down the stretch. They pounded the ball into the post, into Williams and Monteiro."
In the women's final, No. 22 North Georgia successfully defended its title with a 90-72 win over Columbus State. NGU, led by Tamera Thorpe with 21 points and Abbie Franklin with 14 points and 11 rebounds, shot 57 percent in the final. The Nighthawks take a 27-4 record into the NCAA Division II tournament. Tatiana Wayne had 30 points and seven boards for CSU (16-13).
The NCAA Division II tourney fields 64 teams and plays three games in the regionals next weekend and into the following week. The survivors go on to the Elite Eight.
AU will need to win three more games to get that far. After Saturday's first-round, the second round will be played Sunday and the third round the following Tuesday.
"We want to keep the streak going," Williams said.
