AU men’s win streak snapped, women avenge loss to Lander
Justin Gray | Sports editor
GREENWOOD, S.C.—The Augusta men dropped their first game in February at the hands of Lander, 77-72, on Wednesday, Feb. 21.
This one will be a tough pill to swallow as the Jaguars held the lead all for about 35 minutes of this matchup.
The Jaguars started out the game on a 9-0 run after a tough Demitri Gardner layup.
Augusta kept its momentum going by consistently knocking down three-pointers, they went on to shoot 7 of 11 from behind the arc in the first half.
The Jaguars took a 42-36 lead into the break.
The second half was a struggle on the offensive end for AU as they only shot 32 percent from the field. Even with the shooting efficiency dropping, they battled and stayed ahead of the Bearcats.
Lander took its first lead of the game with 4:36 remaining and the Jaguars were never able to recover, falling on the road to the top team in the Peach Belt Conference.
This loss snapped Augusta’s six-game winning streak and dropped them to 15-10 overall with a 8-7 conference record.
“We gave a championship effort today, but we didn’t play championship basketball,” said Coach Dip Metress. “We had some opportunities to separate ourselves but could never do it.”
The Jaguars’ offensive attack was led by Gardner with 26 points, he did so on 3 of 6 from behind the arc. He also grabbed six rebounds.
“We have to keep going,” said the shooting guard from Winchester, Va. “Just because we lost one game doesn’t mean we need to put our heads down. I feel like tonight we let our foot off the pedal and they took advantage of it.”
Ja’Queze Kirby added 12 points and seven rebounds. Right behind him was John St. Germain III and David Viti, both with 11. Max Amadasun led in rebounds with nine.
Viti hit some big three-pointers down the stretch, stopping some Lander runs.
“We fought hard the entire game,” said the senior from Buford, Ga. “They hit big time shots when they needed to. We expected that, but we didn’t answer offensively.”
Lander was led by Noah Dunn with 19 points off the bench and Connor McKay had 13 also off the bench.
The Jaguars did receive some good news early in the day as they are ranked in the first NCAA Regional poll.
Next up, the Jaguars will try to go on the road and upset #16 North Georgia on Saturday, Feb. 24. Tip-off will follow the women’s game’s conclusion.
Onto a higher note.
The Augusta women blasted by Lander, 71-54, to improve to 18-7 overall and 12-3 in the conference.
The Jaguars got out to a 12-4 start and never looked back. They led 19-8 after the first quarter thanks to Je’Bria Fullwood closing it out with some free throws.
The second quarter was a little sluggish for the Lady Jaguars, but they went on a 5-0 run into halftime to make it look like that never happened, leading 32-23.
The third and fourth quarter, is when the Lady Jaguars did what they always do and just left the Bearcats in the dust extending their lead all the way to 24 and walking away with another conference road win.
They were led by Tomiyah Alford again with 18 points and nine rebounds. Kennedi Manning and Autumn Phillips both added 10 points.
“It feels great to get another win on the road,” said AU Coach Celeste Stewart. “It shows that our team is peaking at the right time. They believe in themselves and each other.”
The Jaguars still sit firmly in second place in the conference with three games to go and they are also ranked in the first NCAA regional poll.
Next up is a road test at North Georgia on Saturday, Feb. 24. Tip-off is at 1:30 p.m.
Contact Justin Gray at jusgray@augusta.edu.
Ja’Queze Kirby attempts one of his seven three-pointers in the loss at Lander. At the top of the page, Demitri Gardner scores two of his 26 points in the losing affair. (photos by Paula Toole, AU Athletics)
