Jaguars overcome slow start, rally in second half to advance to PBC tourney semifinals
By Katron Hugee | Sports writer
The Augusta University men’s basketball team defeated the Georgia Southwestern Hurricanes 89-66 on Tuesday, March 1, at Christenberry Fieldhouse.
This game marked the Jaguars’ first game of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament. AU finished as the regular-season champions of the PBC, giving theJags the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage throughout the tournament.
The eighth-seeded Hurricanes would be their opponent in the PBC quarterfinals. AU swept Georgia Southwestern during the regular season.
The game started with Georgia Southwestern coming out firing, jumping out to an early 14-4 lead. This was aided by the scoring of Kahlon Whitley, who scored 8 of the Hurricane’s first 12 points including two 3-pointers.
The Jaguars responded with a 9-2 run cutting the lead down to 3 at 16-13. AU’s Miguel Arnold was responsible for seven of those points, hitting two mid-range jumpers and a 3-pointer.
Arnold after the game talked about the difference between the regular season and the postseason.
“Every game is a big game,” Arnold said. “It's win or go home, and you have to play as hard as you can. Coach Dip (Metress) says it’s big boy basketball.”
The Hurricanes would snatch the momentum back with a 9-1 run, giving them a 12 point advantage with 8:50 remaining in the first half.
The Jaguars once again cut the lead to six before a Jacorie Archie corner three would push Georgia Southwestern’s lead back up to 12. Archie finished the first half with 11 points including two 3-pointers and a mid-range shot plus a foul.
AU would respond once more with a 6-0 run to cut the lead back down to 6 thanks to two more buckets from Arnold. Arnold had 13 points at the half, crucial in keeping AU afloat early.
“I haven’t been playing as well offensively in the last three or four games,” Arnold said. “I’ve been trying to get myself back in routine so this was a breakout game and I’m going to keep being aggressive and try to keep it up.”
The first half would wrap up with the Hurricanes leading the Jaguars 38-30. AU led for only 57 seconds in the first half as opposed to 18:36 for the Hurricanes.
Starting the second half, Georgia Southwestern came out back in attack mode immediately pushing its lead back up to 12. This, again, tied their largest lead of the game.
Then, the perimeter shooting of the Jaguars led to a 12-2 run, their biggest run of the game so far. Arnold and Tyree Myers hit back-to-back 3-pointers followed by a 4-point play from Troy Cracknell.
After a Ja’queze Kirby layup, the lead was cut to 2 at 45-43. This would lead into a media timeout with 15:36 remaining in the second half.
Out of the timeout, Cracknell would hit a deep 2-pointer, tying the game. Cracknell then followed that up with a 3-pointer off of a pass fake giving AU a three-point lead at 48-45. This forced a Hurricane timeout. This extended the Jaguar run to 17-2, nine of which were scored by Cracknell, who scored his 1,000th point in his Augusta University career in this game.
“I knew I only had three points in the first half so I knew myself I had to pick it up,” Cracknell said. “So I came out and hit the first couple of shots and that really got us going.”
After a GSW 3-pointer to retie the game at 48, AU would snag all the momentum with a 13-0 run. This gave the Jaguars a 61-48 lead with 10:09 left.
From there AU would seize complete control going up by as much as 26 points. David Viti would help put the game away with 14 points and 3 3-pointers, all in the second half.
The Jaguars would finish off the game winning 89-66. AU shot 69 percent in the second half compared to 37.5 percent the first half and made 10 3-pointers in the second half compared to 3 in the first.
Arnold led the team in points with 22, followed by Tyshaun Crawford with 19. Cracknell and Viti both had 14 points and Myers led the team in assists with 6.
“They’re (GSW) a good team, our whole league is good and the first win is always the hardest,” Metress said. “But this is what you need, it’s good to have a little adversity and win a game.”
The Jaguars face the fifth-seeded Columbus State University Cougars on Friday, March 4, in Christenberry Fieldhouse. AU is now 15-0 at home this season, regular and postseason. AU and Columbus split their regular-season conference games.
“We haven’t lost at home yet,” Arnold said. “We feel great playing at home and there’s nothing better than playing here.”
Contact Katron Hugee at khugee@augusta.edu.
Jaguar center Tyshaun Crawford (0) uses his half hook to score a basket on a night when he scored 19 points. At the top of the page, AU’s Darren Lucas-White (11) goes in for a dunk after a steal. (photos by Madison Keel)
