Flagler upsets Augusta University, ends Jags' long home winning streak
By Carlos Rodriguez | Sports editor
The No. 6 ranked Augusta University men’s basketball team suffered an 89-75 loss to Flagler on Saturday, Jan. 21, at Christenberry Fieldhouse.
The Saints (3-5, 9-10) gave the Jaguars (7-1, 16-2) their first conference loss of the season and snapped their 11-game winning streak and 27-game home winning streak that dates back to last season when they went 20-0 at home.
“Credit Flagler; they came in and played well. They spread it, they shot it, they played their butt off,” said AU Coach Dip Metress.
Flagler was led by the trio of Malik Bryant, who scored 25 points, Chase Fiddler with 22 points and Jaylen Lemons with 17. They combined to make 11 of the team’s 12 3-point makes. Lemons knocked in five of them, while Fiddler and Bryant made four and two, respectively.
“He (Malik Bryant) beat us in transition a couple times; he’s a beast on the floor,” said Metress. “They just played good and we were bad, but it’s because what they did to us.”
Tyshaun Crawford led AU with 26 points and seven rebounds. Tyree Myers added 15 points.
Augusta started off the game efficiently, scoring on six of their first seven possessions. Myers gave the Jags a 14-8 lead after knocking down a 3-pointer.
Shortly after, AU would 18-13 after Myers dished the ball to David Viti on an inbound play, as Viti dunked it with 13:16 left.
The Saints would end up going on a 13-0 run the next four minutes. 3-pointers started and ended the run as Lemons knocked down one of his five makes from deep to cap off Flagler’s run and go up 26-18.
This run gave the Saints the momentum they needed as they never let off the gas after finding their groove.
A and-one layup by Myers cut the lead to 36-31 with 4:06 remaining. The Jags would go scoreless for nearly three minutes while the Saints took advantage and pushed their lead to 10.
AU’s Miguel Arnold made a 3-pointer to cut it back down to a five-point lead with a minute left, but layups by Flagler’s Tyler Collier and Fiddler in the final seconds sent the Jags into the half trailing, 45-36.
Key starter Darren Lucas-White only played three minutes, all in the first half, due to an ankle injury he suffered in the previous game against Georgia Southwestern.
“When you lose a guy like Darren, people don’t realize the value he brings which is getting hands on basketballs,” said Metress. “He played three minutes the first half and had two offensive rebounds on a bad leg.”
The Saints picked up right where they left off in the second half, stretching their lead to 16 after only three minutes of play. Fiddler knocked down a 3-pointer to give them a 54-38 lead, forcing Metress to call a timeout early on.
The smallest the Jaguars could cut Flagler’s lead to was 10, which they did several times, but the Saints kept applying pressure and had an answer for the Jaguars attempt at a rally.
Fiddler caught fire for the Saints in the second half scoring on back-to-back possessions with a fastbreak dunk on one possession and a layup on the next to go up 79-58 with 6:22 remaining.
At the six-minute mark Metress saw enough, substituting out some starters and key role players for several reserve players and Crawford. The bench provided a spark led by Chris Britt, who knocked down two quick 3-pointers and a and-one layup for eight points off the bench in less than three minutes.
“Chris played well and he’s been working hard in practice, I’m happy for him,” said Metress “The only positive to come out the game tonight is we had some guys play well off the bench that haven’t gotten an opportunity and Darren Lucas-White didn’t get hurt. Everything else was not positive.”
Despite a last-minute spark by the Jags, Flagler would seal the deal with free throws and go onto complete the upset.
The Saints shot 57.9-percent from the field while AU shot 41.3-percent. The Jags were able to get Flagler center Kyle Young in foul trouble as he only played 12 minutes, scoring six points. Young is a top five scorer in the Peach Belt Conference.
“We knew they could shoot it” said Metress. “We were concerned about (Kyle) Young because of the matchups. We didn’t guard. Hopefully, we learned our lesson and get ready for next week against Aiken.”
In the women’s game, Augusta gained a 68-52 PBC victory over the Saints behind 13 points from Mone Florence and 11 each from Tomiyah Alford and Autumn Phillips. Sharale McCormick led Flagler (1-7, 4-15) with 20 points.
The third-place Jaguars (5-3, 12-6) shot 57 percent on 3-pointers and 46 percent overall.
At halftime of the women’s game, AU celebrated the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the federal law that brought equality to college sports. The Jaguars honored the three all-time leading scorers in AU women's basketball history in Lawanna Monday-Harden, Beth McCoy Meyer and Debbie Born.
Both Jaguar teams will head on the road to play USC Aiken on Wednesday, Jan. 25. The AU women will tip off at 5:30 p.m. and the men at 7:30. The Pacer men (6-2, 13-5) are tied for third place in the Peach Belt.
Contact Carlos Rodriguez at carrodriguez@augusta.edu.
Autumn Phillips (5) shows her ball-handling skills during AU’s 68-52 win over Flagler on Title IX Day. At the top of the page, Tyree Myers drives to the hoop with his left hand for the Jaguars. (photos by Madison Keel)
