AU defeats Flagler for its ninth straight win, moves into first place in PBC standings
By Carlos Rodriguez | Co-editor in chief
The Augusta University men’s basketball team moved into a tie for first place after defeating Flagler (20-5, 13-3) on Saturday, Feb. 19 at Christenberry Fieldhouse.
AU (13-3, 23-3) increased their win streak to nine straight. The 12th-ranked Jags haven’t lost a game since their last matchup against Flagler on Jan. 22.
“When we lost at Flagler, I called timeout and got our guys together and said, ‘We have enough to win this league if we play the same effort we’re doing right now the rest of the year,’” said AU Coach Dip Metress. “Since that time, we’ve played well and practiced well.”
Center Tyshaun Crawford led AU with a double-double with 26 points and 13 rebounds. Troy Cracknell and Tyree Myers had 16 and 12 points, respectively. Myers was perfect from the line, making all eight of his free-throw attempts.
On the first play of the game, Crawford scored on a left-handed hook shot, eclipsing the 1,000-career point mark for his career at AU. Crawford is the 35th player in school history to reach the milestone and is the third player this season to achieve it along with Miguel Arnold and Myers.
“I was kind of nervous going into the game because it was only two points,” said Crawford. “I was proud of myself for getting that because I didn’t get it in high school so to have it now is pretty special.”
The Jaguars held the lead pretty much the entire game. The Saints only lead came after Crawford’s first basket when Kohl Roberts answered with a 3-pointer.
Crawford converted an and-one layup with 9:26 remaining to give the Jaguars a 19-12 lead. Flagler’s Jaizec Lottie got the Saints within one-point after making two free throws as they trailed 24-23 with 4:18 left.
The final basket of the half came from Crawford who once again converted an and-one, this time throwing down a dunk while being fouled. AU went into the half up 32-25.
In the second half the 21st-ranked Saints came out with five straight points after a 3-pointer by Lottie and a dunk by Roberts, trimming AU’s lead to two, but the Jaguars fed off their intensity and increased their lead. Cracknell gave Augusta their first double digit lead of the game after knocking down two free throws to go up 48-38 with 13 minutes remaining.
The Jags kept rolling, making bucket after bucket. Darren Lucas-White gave AU a 22-point lead after converting an and-one layup with 4:36 remaining as they went up 70-48.
Flagler started to knock down shots late in the game and started to foul to stop the clock. With little time left and AU making free throws, a comeback by the Saints was thrown out the window as they were defeated 78-65.
AU held Flagler to 33.9-percent from the field and shot 39.3-percent in return. While it wasn’t the best night shooting from the floor for the Jags, their defensive performance and shooting at the line lifted them to victory. Augusta drew a total of 27 fouls and made 25 free throws while the Saints made 17.
This was a showdown between the two highest ranked teams in the Southeast Region, as Flagler was No. 1 and AU as No. 2. They are likely to switch positions in next week’s poll.
FIVE TAKEAWAYS:
Here are five takeaways from the AU-Flagler matchup.
AU’s Crawford showcased his dominance
Crawford, a 7-footer, was the most dominant player on the floor in my opinion. While Lottie was great offensively, Crawford’s efficiency from the floor pushed him ahead. His defensive abilities and performance on the offensive end were unmatched. Teams struggle to guard Crawford because of his size and he definitely used that to his advantage to get inside the paint and bully Flagler’s big men. He also showcased his improved shooting from the line this season. His eight free throw makes from the line were big. When Crawford first arrived at Augusta, he shot 46.9-percent from the line in his first season. Now he’s shooting 69.6-percent with 135 makes, giving him a top-10 ranking in NCAA Division II. His passing skills sometimes goes unnoticed as well. He had two big assists late in the second half to Arnold and Lucas-White.
“To say he’s come a long way is an understatement,” said Metress. “The best thing he’s done is staying out of foul trouble right now because he’s moving his feet defensively. Happy for him to get his 1,000th point, he deserves the accolades.”
The Saints’ Lottie is a handful for any team
Lottie, the reigning PBC player of the year, is arguably the best scorer in the conference.
The guard is averaging 22.8 points per game. Lottie had a game-high 30 points. Just like Crawford, Lottie is one of the top players in the nation in free throw makes and it showed on Saturday. He got to the rim and picked up fouls several times, shooting 14 attempts from the line and making all of them. The Jaguars could potentially see Lottie and the Saints down the line possibly one or two times before the season is all said and done so maintaining him will be crucial to win if they meet again.
Ja’Queze Kirby’s makes a significant presence
When the two teams met last time at Flagler on Jan. 22, the Saints defeated the Jaguars by 13. Kirby missed that game due to family reasons. With Kirby on the floor, it allowed the Jaguars to have another all-around athlete on the floor. His ability to defend multiple positions and stretch the floor to attack you inside or from beyond the arc is a key component for the Jags. Kirby drew charges, grabbed rebounds and scored when needed. At times he guarded Lottie, who had to work even harder to get a shot over the 6-foot-6 freshman from Hazelhurst, Ga.
“Lottie is a handful, so Kirby bothers him,” said Metress. “Kirby was phenomenal defensively. Kirby and Darren’s rebounding late with Tyshaun really helps us.”
Kirby finished with nine points, four rebounds and one steal.
The importance of this win
This game was by far the most important one of the season on the Jaguars’ schedule thus far. The win not only puts AU in a share for first place with Flagler, but it also gives the Jags the tiebreaker edge if they hold their position for the next two games. If they do, the Jags would host the Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championship at Christenberry Fieldhouse. The last time Augusta hosted the tournament was 2019 where they won their last PBC Tournament title after defeating USC Aiken.
“I would love that, there’s nothing more I could ask for than hosting it,” said Cracknell. “We’re undefeated at home, so if we could keep it here that’d be great for us.”
Players fed off each other and crowd’s energy
Christenberry Fieldhouse was packed with fans as it was the Homecoming game. The fans were into the game, making it a hostile environment for the visitors while it gave the Jags lots of energy. AU had several big plays but specifically in the second half. The team converted on several and-ones late in the game. Cracknell had a big and-one 3-pointer late in the game that got the crowd loud and on their feet.
“We love our fans, the fans give us a lot of energy,” said Cracknell. “We have our Senior Night on Wednesday, so I hope everybody comes out and supports us then.”
Augusta has two remaining games on their regular season schedule. On Wednesday, Feb. 23, the Jaguars will host North Georgia for Senior Night at 7:30 p.m. Then, on Saturday (Feb. 26), they travel to Clayton State to play at 3:30 p.m.
Contact Carlos Rodriguez at carrodriguez@augusta.edu.
Guard Tyree Myers had 12 points, made all eight of his free-throw attempts and quarterbacked the Jaguars to their ninth straight win. AU has two games remaining, home against North Georgia and at Clayton State. (photo by AU Athletics) At the top of the age, Tyshaun Crawford (0) goes over Flagler’s Tyler Collier (5) for two of his 26 points. Crawford became the 35th Jaguar to reach the 1,000-point for a career. (photo by Madison Keel)
