Myers lifts AU over Flagler for fourth consecutive conference win

By Carlos Rodriguez |Sports writerThe Augusta University men’s basketball team picked up an 84-82 road victory against Flagler, Saturday, Feb. 8, in St. Augustine, Fla. With the win Augusta (10-4, 15-7) wins its fourth consecutive Peach Belt Conference game and remained in fourth place as the league heads into a key stretch of contests in February before the conference tournament.AU sophomore Tyree Myers played the hero role for the Jaguars after knocking down a game-winning three-pointer with a minute left to play. Myers scored 17 points, knocking down all five of his three-point attempts, and dishing out nine assists.Including Myers, all of the starters scored in double digits. Cracknell, a junior, like Myers also added 17 points and made five three-pointers. Tyshaun Crawford scored 15, Rafael Monteiro with 14 and Miguel Arnold added 13.In the first half, Flagler’s Gedi Juozapitis made the first shot of the game to put the Saints up 2-0 with 19:17 remaining. Crawford answered back the very next possession tying it up with a shot of his own for AU’s first points of the game. The Saints jumped out to a commanding 22-10 lead with 14:10 left to play after a three-pointer from Juozapaitis, one of the league's top outside shooters.Myers trimmed the deficit to four after connecting on a three-pointer with 12:26 left as the Jags trailed 22-18. After being down by as much as 12, with two straight baskets from Monteiro and Arnold, AU gained their first lead of the game leading 37-36 with 4:12 remaining. Myers made a shot with eight seconds left to give Augusta a 44-43 lead heading into the half.Leading the Jags at the half was Crawford, who had 11 points. Monteiro and Cracknell had eight points each.In the second half, Juozapaitis scored five points in the opening minute giving Flagler a 48-44 lead. The lead changed hands multiple times but two back-to-back three-pointers from Myers gave AU a 65-61 lead with 11:55 to play. Crawford hit a shot that put the Jags up 76-67, their biggest lead of the game, with 6:42 remaining. The Saints fought back and tied things up at 78 after a layup from Chris Metzger with 3:13 left. Exactly a minute later, Metzger made another layup on the next possession to put Flagler up 80-78.With 1:46 left to play Arnold knocked down a much needed three-pointer to give AU an 81-80 lead. Metzger answered once again, making a dunk to give Flagler the lead once again at 82-81 with 1:28 left.Myers played hero on the next possession, hitting a three-pointer with 1:04 remaining that would go on to be the game-winning shot, as AU secured the victory after great defense in the final minute.The Jaguars shot 58 percent from the field, while the Saints connected at a 49-percent clip. Both teams were quite accurate from behind the arc. Augusta made 11-of-18 treys (61 percent), and Flagler 13-of-24 (54 percent).Juozapaitis led all scorers with 30 points, making 8 of 14 on three-pointers. AU will head on the road to play Francis Marion on Wednesday, Feb.12, at 7:30 p.m. The Jags return to Christenberry Fieldhouse on Saturday, Feb. 15, to host UNC Pembroke at 3:30 p.m. Contact Carlos Rodriguez at carlosjr521@gmail.com.

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