AU sweeps Young Harris in Peach Belt basketball action

Staff report

Tyshaun Crawford scored 31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Augusta University men to an 88-72 Peach Belt Conference victory over Young Harris at Christenberry Fieldhouse on Feb. 11.

Earlier, the Jaguar women defeated the Lions 69-55 behind Autumn Phillips’ 19 points.

In the men’s game the Jaguars (11-3, 20-4) shot 53 percent, compared to 42 percent for the Lions (9-5, 18-5). Attendance was 2,347 on rainy Saturday in Augusta.

Crawford, the reigning PBC player of the week, was 12 of 19 from the field and 7 of 9 from the line for the Jaguars.

“Tyshaun was good again,” said AU Coach Dip Metress “We worked hard in practice on not being so dependent on him to carry us offensively. His presence influenced the game.”

Miguel Arnold added 23 points for AU, and Chris Britt totaled 13 for the home team. Arnold was 10 of 14 from the field and made half of his six 3-point tries.

“Miguel drove the ball to the basket early, and that opened up things for everyone offensively,” Metress said.

Karl Chavis led Young Harris with 18, and Christian Schach had 17.

AU kept pace with North Georgia for first place in the Peach Belt. UNG (11-3, 18-4) edged Lander 63-62.

With the victory, Metress recorded his 11th 20-win season in Augusta—and his 13th overall.

“My high school coach told me that I couldn't play golf until I won 20 games as a head coach,” Metress quipped.  “I am not sure when that happened, but I still don't play golf, except for putt putt on occasion.”

In the women’s game, Kennedi Manning added 15 points and six rebounds for AU (8-6, 15-9), and Mone Florence chipped in 14 points. Mackenzie Johnson led Young Harris (6-8, 10-12) with 20 points.

The AU women are in a four-way tie for third place in the PBC. The other three third-place teams are Clayton State, North Georgia and Columbus State. Georgia Southwestern is in first place, with USC Aiken second, just a game ahead of the four in third place.

Augusta will host rival USC Aiken on Wednesday, Feb. 15. Women will tip off at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men at 7:30.

“Aiken played very well in our last meeting,” Metress said. “We are look forward to having our second annual Teddy Toss . We need to continue working on sprinting to screens and play inside out.”

The Pacer men won the Jan. 25 game in Aiken by an 81-76 score.

Rain washes out baseball, softball

The Jaguars’ weekend baseball series with the University of Virginia at Wise was wiped out due to the heavy rain in the CSRA. The series will not be made up. AU is looking for another team to play later in the season to compensate for the lost three-game set. Augusta’s baseball team will host Emmanuel on Tuesday, Feb. 14, at 2 p.m.

AU softball saw both of its doubleheaders with Chowan and Barton lost as well. The plan now is to play Chowan on Tuesday, Feb. 14, at noon and 2 p.m. The Barton games are postponed.

Tyshaun Crawford (0) goes up for two of his 31 points in the Jaguars’ comfortable win over Young Harris. At the top of the page, AU's Autumn Phillips led the way in scoring with 19 points in her team’s win over the Lions. (photos by Madison Keel)

Miguel Arnold (5) opened up the AU offense with his early drivers; Arnold had 23 points to help lead the Jaguars to an 88-72 win over Young Harris. (photo by Madison Keel)