AU men dominate the boards en route to win at Georgia Southwestern
Justin Gray | Sports Editor
AMERICUS—The Augusta men weathered the storm and prevailed to victory over Georgia Southwestern, 78-66, on Saturday, Feb. 15, at the Storm Dome.
For the most part, the Jaguars did it in the same fashion as always—dominating the boards 35-24 and outrebounding the Hurricanes 16-7 on the offensive glass.
Augusta never trailed in this game, taking the lead early and never looking back.
The first half was the Demitri Gardner show. In fact, he missed the first shot of the game, got a steal and put the ball back up to make up for the miss.
After that, he went on to score 13 more points and record two blocks in the first half.
The Jags went into halftime with a 40-35 lead, which doesn’t do justice to how well AU played to open the game. The team went into arguably its toughest place to play and handled business.
In the second half, things got a little testy when the Hurricanes cut the AU lead to four with 14:44 remaining.
Shortly after, a 10-1 run put things out of reach as the Hurricanes never got back within seven, and Augusta cruised to yet another conference victory.
This is something AU Coach Dip Metress has done a great job at over the years—avoiding losses in trap games.
The Jaguars’ old-school style of basketball is a big reason why they’ve been so consistent in handling business.
Metress was proud of the team’s work on the boards in this one.
“We did not give up an offensive rebound in the second half, and we battled through adversity with foul trouble,” he said.
Gardner, who had a big first half, finished with 25 points, four rebounds, and two assists. On top of that, he forced five turnovers (two blocks and three steals).
“It’s a great feeling to be able to go in and get a win in that environment,” said the Winchester, Va., product. “It’s very fun to play in those games.”
John St. Germain III followed up Gardner with 11 points and six assists. Freshman TJ Baker also had 11 in the win. Maximillian Amadasun led the Jags in rebounding with 10. Amadasun would foul out in the last two minutes.
Augusta improved to 16-7 overall and 10-3 in the conference with the win. Georgia Southwestern dropped to 2-11 in the PBC and 8-15 overall.
Augusta women's basketball secures a big road win
The Augusta women’s basketball team secured a 74-61 road win over Georgia Southwestern despite missing starting guard Autumn Phillips. The Jaguars improved to 16-7 overall and 8-5 in Peach Belt Conference play.
After trailing 20-17 in the first quarter, Augusta’s defense stepped up in the second half, limiting the Hurricanes to 28 points. A dominant fourth quarter (25-13) sealed the victory.
Quinasia Abercrombie led with 18 points, six rebounds, and four steals. Mone Florence added 16 points and six key free throws, while Yamani Paul contributed 11 points off the bench. Augusta forced 20 turnovers, converting them into 23 points, and held Georgia Southwestern to just one made 3-pointer.
Next, Augusta hosts Lander on Monday, Feb. 17, with the women’s game tipping off at 5:30 p.m. and the men’s at 7:30 p.m.
PBC standings update:
Augusta now sits alone at second place in the men’s standings, after both USC Aiken (vs. Columbus State) and USC Beaufort (vs. North Georgia) lost in Saturday’s contests.
The Jaguar women remain in third place, behind No. 10 North Georgia and Columbus State.
Contact Justin Gray at jusgray@augusta.edu.
Luis Nonfon (24) had two points and four rebounds in 27 minutes of play in the Jaguars’ 78-66 win over Georgia Southwestern. At the top of the page, AU’s Demitri Gardner (2) was the leading scorer on the night with 25 points. He averages 23 points per game, good for 12th place nationally in scoring average. (photos by Paula Toole/AU Athletics)
