Staff reportCOLUMBIA, S.C.—The Augusta University men's basketball team defeated Benedict College 85-71 on Tuesday night, Nov. 26 at the Tigers' gymnasium.AU had a balanced attack led by guards Miguel Arnold, Darren Lucas-White and Tyree Myers with 14, 14 and 13 points, respectively. Arnold, the sophomore from Miami, hit all four of his three-point attempts. Lucas-White, the sophomore from Capitol Heights, Md., played solid on defense and was active on offense both on the drive and with the pull-up jumper. Myers, the Baltimore, Md., sophomore, was 3 of 5 from behind the arc. Myers also had four assists and three steals.Jaguar Coach Dip Metress made defense a point of emphasis after his team had allowed 94 points in a loss to Catawba in AU's home opener and had been allowing the opposition to score 83 points per game. The Jags were averaging 82 themselves, and in Metress's mind that should have been enough to win all four of the opening games. Therefore, Metress substituted five players at a time in the first half against Benedict. His rule was simple: Once a unit had allowed six points, it came out."I know substituting five at a time that the flow is not going to be that good offensively," Metress said in the visitors' locker room after the game. "The defense was the big difference tonight. We're gonna guard, or we not going to win. You know Group B played more than the first unit in the first half."Deflections and scrambling for loose balls increased over previous games, and the Jaguars held BC to just 27 first-half points and only seven field goals. The Tigers scored 44 points in the second half, but that was in part due to a closely called game by the officials that led to 74 free throws on the night."The second half was a foul fest," Metress said, "but it was a good win. We didn't even play that well. We missed a couple of bunny layups, and Troy (Cracknell) missed a couple of free throws. These are the things we usually do well. Gabe (Moller) had a big spark for us in the first half."As a result of Metress calling for a stouter defensive effort, Augusta (3-2) held the Tigers (3-4) to 36 percent from the field, and the Jaguars had eight steals.In addition to the guard play, sophomore center Tyshaun Crawford added 13 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots for the Jaguars, and Cracknell chipped in 10 points, seven of those from the line down the stretch. Moller had a nice driving layup in the first half and gave the Jaguars a shot of energy.AU shot 48 percent overall, but even better from behind the arc (56 percent), thanks to Arnold and Myers.Aboubacar Camara led the Tigers with 19 points and nine boards, followed by Deon Joyner with 17 points and six rebounds. Tajh Green had 14 and Joseph Staton 13 for BC.After a Shawn Moss (seven points and three rebounds) three-pointer, Augusta grabbed an 18-11 lead to start the game. The lead grew to 38-27 by halftime. In the second half, Benedict got as close at 69-62 with 4:16 left on a free throw by Green, but Myers countered by swishing a three-pointer for 72-62 with 3:53 to go. From there it was a parade to the free throw line, as AU hit 15-of-18 charity tosses to close out the win.Earlier, the Jaguar women lost to No. 24 Benedict (5-1) 78-34 in the opener. Ay'Anna Bey led with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Crystal Corley led AU (2-3) with seven points. The Augusta women stay on the road this coming weekend and will play Shaw in in a semifinal of the Virginia State University Thanksgiving Tournament in Petersburg, Va., on Friday, Nov. 29 at 4 p.m.Augusta's men will host Barton College on Saturday, Nov. 30, at noon in Christenberry Fieldhouse.