AU women get key win over North Georgia; Nighthawk men defeat Jaguars

By Justin Gray | Sports editor

The Augusta men’s basketball team dropped a home conference game on Saturday, Jan. 27, to No. 10 North Georgia, 80-66, on Military Appreciation Day.

Earlier, the AU women got 24 points and eight rebounds from senior center Kennedi Manning to post a 68-59 win over the Nighthawks and remain in the hunt for the Peach Belt Conference regular-season title. The Jaguar women are 6-2 in the PBC, a game behind co-leaders Lander and Georgia Southwestern.

In the second game of the doubleheader, the Jaguar men attempted to make it back-to-back wins over top-15 teams and pick up two pivotal Peach Belt Conference wins. They had beaten Lander on Wednesday night, Jan. 24, their biggest win of the campaign. 

Augusta (2-6, 9-9) got off to another fast start Saturday, taking an early 13-8 lead. The rest of the first half was a tight-knit affair.  

In a game that saw 12 lead changes, North Georgia (16-2, 7-1) took a 40-37 lead heading into halftime.  

The second half was a war. Augusta came out of the half taking the lead back, 46-43, on a Demitri Gardner 3-pointer.  

UNG (7-1, 16-2) then countered that with a 19-5 run to take an 11-point lead over the Jaguars. 

The Jaguars had to fight back quickly if they wanted a chance in this one, and they did. David Viti made a few 3-pointers, and AU got it back within three.  

Sadly enough, this was the Jaguar’s final run as PBC preseason player of the year Frank Champion and his Nighthawk teammates were just too much for Augusta. 

This game was the opposite of the Lander win because tonight the Jaguars were beat physically in the paint. North Georgia, who are tied for Lander for first place in the PBC, outscored the Jaguars 58-22 in the paint.  

“You can’t say this was a tough loss because we’re not tough,” said AU Coach Dip Metress. “On our home floor we were soft. Now they are good. We have to play better to win, but they are tougher than us too.”  

The Jaguars were led by Gardner and Viti, both with 16 points. Viti shot his best from behind the arc in conference play, shooting 3 of 8.  Point guard John St. Germain III added 13 points and five assists.

“They played tougher and right now they are better than us,” said Viti, the senior from Buford,. “I think we believe in the season again, though, now that we’ve proved we can hang with the top of the league.” 

Center Max Amadasun had 10 points and 10 boards for the Jaguars.  

“Honestly, I think we are making strides on defense, not today, but lately,” said the big man from Dublin, Ireland. “I feel like when you watch us, we're more connected than we’ve been all season.” 

Champion led North Georgia in points with 21, Cayden Charles added 17 and Eric Jones had 12.  

The difference in the game proved to be shooting. UNG hit at a 54-percent clip, while AU made only 39 percent of its floor shots. The Jags did make 16 of 17 from the line. The Nighthawks took better care of the ball with only eight turnovers, compared to 13 for the hosts.

The Jaguars played a better brand of basketball this week, and if they continue this pattern down the stretch, they will turn this season around.  

Their next opportunity is Wednesday, Jan. 31, at Georgia College immediately following the conclusion of the women’s game.  AU is in a four-way tie for seventh place in the PBC.

On a higher note, the AU women picked up another big conference win tin the opener.  Traditionally, the UNG women have been the Jaguars’ nemesis, but not this time, mainly because of the play of Manning and teammate Tomiyah Alford.

The Jaguars got out to an early 12-2 lead before North Georgia took over and dominated the rest of the first half, going up 31-25 at the half.  

The second half proved to be total domination by Augusta. In the third quarter, the Jaguars figured out they could outrun the Nighthawks and win the game in the paint, so they exploited that UNG weakness.  

The 6-foot-1 Manning absolutely took over, leading the Jaguars to be able to stretch the lead out to 15.

Augusta held onto its lead and walked off the court winning yet another conference game at home.  

Alford followed Manning with 21 points and Autumn Phillips added 12.   

While Manning dominated the glass with her eight rebounds, Kalen Surles led the Jaguars with four assists.  

“It was a good win at home,” said AU Coach Celeste Stewart. “We showed composure, stayed true to our principles, and defended well down the stretch. To win against good teams like North Georgia, you must be able to execute and battle through the course of the game.” 

Kaylee Sticker led UNG (4-4, 11-7) with 17 points and 13 boards. Ansley Hall added 14 points.

The Jaguars now improve to 6-2 in the PBC and 12-6 overall. Augusta has a real chance to win the PBC if the Jaguars keep these performances up.  

They will also head on the road to take on Georgia College on Wednesday, Jan. 31. Tipoff is set for 5:30.  

Both AU teams will host Columbus State University next Saturday afternoon (Feb. 3).

 Contact Justin Gray at jusgray@augusta.edu.

AU’s Demetri Gardner (2) takes the ball to the hoop against UNG’s Eric Jones (22) for two of his 16 points in the 80-66 loss to the Nighthawks at Christenberry Fieldhouse. At the top of the page, David Viti launches a 3-pointer; he also had 16 points for the Jaguars, making three 3-pointers. (photos by Paula Toole, AU Athletics)