Augusta men's basketball team routs Clayton State on Senior Night
By Justin Brosemer | Sports writer
AU Coach Dip Metress’ Jaguars earned a blowout victory against Clayton State 101-56 on Monday, Feb. 22, at Christenberry Fieldhouse in their last home game of the COVID-riddled season.
AU (8-6, 6-6) would follow Metress’ Senior Night tradition in which the seniors get extended play time and start the game. The seniors would go on to have outstanding performances from Shawn Moss’ 21 points on seven three and four assists, and Jerod Carrier with seven points and four assists as well.
“I told Jerod and Shawn that when we win a ring next year, they’re going to get one too for what they had to endure and survive this year,” Coach Metress said after the game. “They’ve been some of the hardest-working players this year, who have supported the rest of the players and have been their biggest cheerleaders when they weren’t able to play. I’m happy for those guys to go out with a win at home.”
Other notable performances would derive from center Tyshawn Crawford, with back-to-back double-doubles on a 15-point and 10-rebound game. Sophomore Timmy Sellers added 14 points and five rebounds.
The AU men’s basketball team would have its strongest start of the season, finishing the first half 42-20. The Jags would continue their trend of high-energy outputs starting the second half with an explosive dunk from Crawford at 19:32, following back-to-back three-point makes from Moss, increasing their lead to 50-24.
In the following possession at 18:12, Moss would rip the ball out of the Clayton State player driving into the lane, leading to a fast break layup by Darren Lucas-White, assisted by Moss.
“It’s my last home game, so I just wanted to go out with a bang, man,” Moss said after their monumental win. “I love shooting the ball and making plays, and my guys trust me to do that, so any chance I get to do that in-game is a blessing.”
Crawford would have his way in the paint all night, a big reason for their gigantic margin of points in the paint versus Clayton State, 50-14. Most especially at 16:12 left in the game, where Crawford would have back-to-back explosive dunks to make the score 62-27.
One of the many positives stemming from Monday’s game is that it was not the usual suspects putting their talents on display. Players like Moss, Carrier, Daniel Allen and Jack Johnson all played more than 20 minutes and took advantage of their given time.
Johnson would get his first dunk of the season after an explosive finish assisted by Moss with 4:02 left. He followed that with a block, rebound and assist to John Whitehead III, who converted on an and-one floater, making the score 99-51.
Senior Jerod Carrier would carry AU into triple digits with two free throws, a feat not even accomplished in the double-overtime game at Lander on Feb. 20, making the score 101-56 with 1:27 left in the game.
The ending of the game would include desperate attempts to get Carrier his first career three-pointer, unfortunately to no avail, but smiles were seen along all AU players and coaches as the clocked ticked to zero. After the game would include high emotions displayed from all players as it would be the last game Seniors Moss and Carrier would play in Christenberry Fieldhouse. The players made sure to embrace each other and get some final pictures together.
“This year has been a challenging year,” Carrier would say in a post-game interview. “With COVID-19, not knowing our schedule for sure, injuries, it’s been rough. To make it four years here, man, I’m grateful. My teammates, those are my brothers. They’ll always support me, and I’ll always support them.”
Lucas-White added 12 points and four assists for the Jaguars. Allen got his first playing time as a Jaguar was he has been sidelined for most of the season with an injury. The freshman from Washington, D.C., totaled seven points, four rebounds and two assists.
Clayton State (0-9, 0-9) was led by Stef Korfas with 25 points, including 10 for 10 from the free throw line.
The team shot 52 percent from the floor and 42 percent on three-pointers..
AU will travel to Francis Marion for its seemingly final game of the 2020-2021 basketball season on Wednesday, Feb. 24. This game has limited attendance allowed, so the AU basketball community is urging all families and fans who wish to see these seniors for the last time to come out to the game.
“Hey, one more win; that’s all I’m thinking about,” Moss said. “I’m trying to go out on a win.”
Contact Justin Brosemer at jbrosemer@augusta.edu.
Senior Jerod Carrier goes up for two points for the Jaguars. At the top of the page, Tyshaun Crawford jams home two of his 15 points in the win over Clayton State. (photos by Justin Brosemer)
Shawn Moss, another senior, tosses in one of his three-pointers en route to a career-high 21 points on Senior Night. (photo by Justin Brosemer)
