By Carlos Rodriguez |Sports writerAU-Catawba video from Bell Ringer MediaThe Augusta University men’s basketball team suffered a 94-82 loss to Catawba University in their regular-season home opener at Christenberry Fieldhouse on Tuesday night, Nov. 19.
Despite the loss, the Jaguars had five players score in double digits. Senior Rafael Monteiro had a phenomenal game shooting with 9 of 11 from the field, recording a game-high 26 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Through four games, Monteiro is leading the team in scoring, averaging 21.3 points per game.Sophomore guard Miguel Arnold scored 17 points, knocking down five three-pointers in 10 tries, while sophomore Tyree Myers added 12 points and nine assists. Freshman Lee Flenor added 11 points, and sophomore Tyshaun Crawford recorded a double-double off the bench with 10 points and 14 rebounds.Leading the Indians were seniors Marcell Haskett with 22 points off the bench and Daquan Lilly with 20 points and seven rebounds. Catawba Coach Rob Perron usually starts Haskett but had made a change.“He missed a class. You miss a class, you don’t start,” Perron said afterwards. “I tell our assistant coaches we’re going to have 10 starters. We don’t really care who starts. We tell our guys we want to recruit 10 starters.”In the first half, the Jags got on board first as Lee Flenor converted a jump shot giving the home team the first lead of the game 2-0 with 19:04 remaining. Tyree Myers gave the Jags their biggest lead of the game at 12-7 with two free throws with 14:47 remaining in the half. The Indians would fight back to tie the game at 14 with under 13 minutes to go. Haskett gave the Indians their first lead of the game with two free makes as they led 16-14 with 12:20 remaining. Haskett would go 14 of 17 from the line for the night.AU fought back to regain the lead three times in the half, all on three-point baskets from Miguel Arnold. The Jags' last lead of the game came after an Arnold three-pointer that gave AU a 38-36 lead with 3:36 remaining in the first half.“We couldn’t stop them in the first half; they really made you pay for every mistake,” Perron said.The Indians (3-1) would go on to take the lead with under two minutes in the half and didn’t let go as they would not lose the lead the rest of the game. The Jags trailed 46-42 at the break, as Monteiro led the way with 17 first-half points.At the beginning of the second half, the Jags started off strong with three consecutive three-pointers from junior Troy Cracknell, Myers and Arnold, cutting the Indians lead to 56-53 with 16:01 remaining. The Jags struggled with fouls and stopping the Indians from getting inside looks. Lilly increased the Indians lead to 10 after converting an old-fashioned three-point play, giving the Indians a 67-57 lead with 11:56 remaining.“In our two losses we’ve given up like seven and 'and-ones,'" AU Coach Dip Metress said. "We never stopped them at the rim. We had a lack of physicality and toughness around the rim.”The Jags managed to cut the lead down to as little as five after a free throw make from Monteiro at 69-64 with 9:26 remaining. Catawba would continue to get inside looks and foul shots. The Indians shot 94.1 percent at the free throw line in the second half, making 16-of-17 free tosses.Catawba also had five players score in double digits with two of the five coming off the bench.“We had a lot of guys pass the torch," Perron said. "A lot of guys took over at different times."The Indians increased their lead to 14 with under a minute remaining for their biggest lead. Myers scored a layup in the last seconds for AU, making the final score 94-82.“(Rafael) was dynamite I thought," Metress said. "Lee played with some toughness. I would argue Tyshaun was our third toughest guy out there."The team will be working on toughness in the coming practices and “the ability to play through contact around the basket," Metress added.The Jaguars also had foul trouble with defensive specialist Darren Lucas-White fouling out as he tried to put the wraps on Haskett.“They (Augusta) got a very promising future. They’re good now, but they’re young. They only have one senior so I tip the cap to them,” said Perron.Prior to the game, The Jags were presented with their Peach Belt Conference Championship rings from last season. Last year AU went 28-6 and reached the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship. Despite having a good season, the team didn’t have the best start but managed to click things in February, when their 15-game win streak had started.“Last year we got put together late," Metress said. "We got to stop that thinking ASAP. We got out-toughed in every single area and we got a long way to go.”Augusta (2-2) will head on the road next Tuesday, Nov. 26, at 7:30 p.m. in a non-conference matchup against Benedict College in Columbia, S.C. The next home game will be Saturday, Nov. 30 at noon against Barton College. The Jaguars beat Barton 88-85 on Nov. 9 in Wilson, N.C.Catawba, which won the South Atlantic Conference last season, has already beaten two Peach Belt foes in AU and Francis Marion and perennial Division II power Virginia Union in this season. Catawba lost to Queens in the regional 96-93 last March. The Indians finished last season with a 25-8 record. Catawba (located in Salisbury, N.C.) will host Young Harris on Nov. 23 in its next outing.The Jaguars received their rings for the 2018-19 Peach Belt championships (both regular-season and conference) just before the game. Among those receiving their rings were Tyvez Monroe, a senior communication major who will graduate in December, and Aaron Byrd, who graduated in May and now lives back him outside Washington, D.C. Byrd said he is thinking about becoming a referee.
Contact Carlos Rodriguez at carlosjr521@gmail.com.