AU women fall to Wingate; men win in overtime at Catawba
Staff report
Autumn Phillips had 24 points, but the Augusta University women’s basketball team suffered its first defeat of the season with a 75-70 loss to Wingate on Nov. 27 at Christenberry Fieldhouse.
The Augusta men (5-0) were able to pull out an 80-76 overtime win at Catawba on Nov. 30 behind 21 points and 13 rebounds for Tyshaun Crawford and 19 points and 7 boards from Miguel Arnold.
In the women’s game, the Jaguars (4-1) led by a point at halftime, but the Bulldogs took control of the game with a 19-12 third quarter.
Wingate (4-1) was led by Emily Hege with 21 points and Hannah Clark with 19.
Phillips made 9 of 16 from the 3-point line for AU. Tomiyah Alford added 13 points, 5 rebounds and 5 steals. More Florence chipped in 10 points.
The Bulldogs shot 52 percent from the field, including a 43-percent clip from beyond the arc. They were also 14 of 15 from the foul line. AU was out rebounded 33-23.
In Wednesday’s game at Catawba, the Jaguar men trailed 42-35 at halftime. However, AU had a 13-2 run to open the second half to take a 48-44 lead. That run concluded with Darren Lucas-White hitting a jumper and making a layup with 14 minutes left in regulation.
The game was close the rest of the way. Augusta did lead 71-69 late and had Timmy Sellers at the line for a chance to move the lead to four with 12 seconds left. Sellers, though, missed the front end of a one-and-one, and AU’s David Viti fouled Catawba’s Javeon Jones at the buzzer. Jones made both free throws for 71-71 to send the game into the extra period.
The Jaguars, ranked second nationally, won the overtime 9-5 to pull out the triumph. Viti made two free throws, Tyree Myers made a jumper, and Crawford had a dunk for a 77-74 AU lead. After Jones hit two more foul shots, Myers hit one free for 78-76.
Viti made two free throws with four seconds left in the OT to seal the Jaguars’ victory.
In addition to Crawford and Arnold, Lucas-White had 14 points and 7 rebounds. Myers and Viti each added 12 points.
Lucas-White, the senior guard from Capitol Heights, Md., surpassed 1,000 points for his career during the game at Catawba. He became the 37th player in program history to cross that milestone and the 17th under Coach Dip Metress.
AU played without forward Ja’Queze Kirby, who has an ankle sprain, and several Jaguars were battling the flu.
The Jaguar women play at Claflin in Orangeburg, S.C., on Thursday, Dec. 1. The AU men are at Virginia Union on Saturday, Dec. 3, in Richmond, Va.
The Augusta women will host Livingstone on Saturday, Dec. 3, at 1:30 p.m.
Update: The AU women registered a 62-48 win at Claflin on Thursday, Dec. 1, behind 28 points and 17 rebonds by Kennedi Manning. Tomiyah Alford contributed 16 points and 5 boards for the Jaguars. AU improved to 5-1 and will host Livingstone on Saturday afternoon at Christenberry Fieldhouse.
Shamaria Jennings (22) goes up for a jumper for the Augusta women’s basketball team against Wingate University. At the top of the page, Kennedi Manning scores two on a post move for AU. (photos by Madison Keel)
Darren Lucas-White (11) became the 37th player in program history to surpass the 1,000-point milestone for his career at AU. Lucas-White scored 14 points in the overtime win over Catawba. (file photo)
