AU men's basketball team outlasts Virginia Union in three overtimes

Justin Gray | Sports writer 

The Augusta men’s basketball team outlasted Virginia Union in three overtimes by a score of 92-90 on Sunday, Dec. 3, at Christenberry Fieldhouse.   

“I’ve never coached in a triple-overtime game,” said AU Coach Dip Metress, who is in his 20th year at the helm of the Jaguar program.  

Christenberry was packed and loud for some Sunday afternoon basketball, with hundreds of fans hoping to see their Jaguars (4-2) pull out the win.  

It was another slow start for the Jags, who found themselves down 21-8 in the early stages of the game. They were able to go on a run thanks to Zyere Edwards and David Viti lighting it up from 3-point range. AU went into the half down 36-31.  

The Jaguars came out hot and played a terrific second half, taking the lead 43-41 on a Demitri Gardner layup and holding on to a lead until late in the game. Finding themselves up 64-58 after an Isaiah Arnold 3-pointer, the Jaguars had to do what they haven’t been able to do all year, close it out.  

They unfortunately were not able to as Virginia Union (4-5) went on a 7-1 run to tie it at the end of regulation.  

This was not ideal for the Jaguars considering four of their five starters were in foul trouble.  

In the first overtime, the Jaguars were trailing by one point when Edwards grabbed a quick rebound, used his quickness to get down the court and made a move on the Union big man to make the layup and take a one-point lead. Virginia Union tied the game at 70 on free throws and the game was headed to double overtime.  

It felt like the Jaguars were finally going to pull away here in the second overtime, and it felt like they would as they led by three, also possessing the ball. Much to the dismay of the Jaguars, Union found a way to get it to two points, and as time expired Union’s leading scorer Tahj Harding hit what looked like a three-pointer to win at the time.

The Panther bench went wild along with their fans, but quickly were quieted with the referees calling it a two-pointer on the floor. After review, they confirmed it was a two and the game continued into a third overtime with the score tied at 80.  

 Things started to get messy here as the Jaguars were without their two best rebounders, Max Amadasun and Ja’Queze Kirby, due to both of them fouling out.

If the Jaguars wanted to win, they had to dig deep and turn to their bench. Insert Timmy Sellers, the Jaguars 6-foot-6 senior forward from Augusta. He got the chance to play the hero. Both teams were going blow for blow, and the Jaguars were down, 90-89, when Viti shot it to try and win the game, but he missed. At the right place, at the right time was Sellers, who tipped it in for what would become the game-winning shot.  

When the shot fell in, Metress called for a timeout and the fans erupted, for not only the basket and the lead, but also for Sellers, who is a fan favorite. He celebrated the basket by jumping to chest bump his teammate Amadasun, and the whole team filed in celebrating with the Glenn Hills High School product. 

Virginia Union took the ball down the court, and into the paint, but Sellers, who has struggled with a bad knee for two seasonx, was there playing stellar defense. The Panthers missed the shot and committed a foul. Gardner made one free throw, missed the other, but it wouldn’t matter as time expired, and the Jaguars pulled off the epic win.  

“That felt good,” Sellers said afterwards. “My teammates just believed in me. I had faith in myself and tried my best to keep the same energy.”

Gardner was the leading scorer for the Jaguars with 29 points, knocking down six 3-pointers in the process. He has led the team in scoring several times this season, and the team goes as his shot goes.  

Metress had high praise for Gardner after the win.

“Nobody guarded him last year and he took it personal,” Metress said. “He fixed his shot, he works at it all the time. He’s got a routine that he does every single day, his job is even harder because based on our personnel he also guards the other team’s best player, so very happy for him.” 

The Jaguars had three guys with double-doubles in Amadasun (13 points, 11 boards), Kirby (10 points, 11 boards) and Edwards (12 points, 11 boards, five assists).

Viti, the emotional leader for the Jaguars, played a career-high 50 minutes. The senior from Buford had 18 points, five rebounds and three assists.  

“Tiring, I need an ice bath and maybe Dip will give me a veteran’s day off tomorrow,” said Viti jokingly after the Jaguars’ big win.  

Arnold, the freshman from famed DeMatha High School in suburban Washington, D.C., made both of his 3-pointers for AU.

 When a game like this is played, you must give major props to the other team because the Panthers battled their tails off as well. One player was spectacular, and that was Harding, who played 54 minutes and scored a career-high 47 points, including 6 of 9 on treys. He is the best player the Jaguars have faced all season.  

The victory got revenge for AU’s loss at Virginia Union last season.

The Jaguars will build off yet another win and will take on Brewton-Parker College, Thursday, Dec. 7, at 11 a.m. It will be the annual Education Day basketball game.

Contact Justin Gray at jusgray@augusta.edu.