Augusta men down Georgia Southwestern 74-65 in Peach Belt Conference opener
Staff report
Tyshaun Crawford had 29 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocked shots to lead the Augusta University men’s basketball team to a 74-65 victory over Georgia Southwestern on Saturday, Dec. 10, in the Peach Belt Conference opener for both teams.
The defending PBC champion Jaguars (1-0, 7-1) led 41-26 at halftime and stretched the lead to 17 early in the second half, but then AU had to withstand a furious Hurricanes’ comeback. GSWU tied the game at 58-58 and only trailed 65-64 with 4:20 left, but the hosts outscored the visitors 9-1 to close out the game.
Crawford was 11 of 15 from the field and made 7 of 8 from the foul line. The 7-foot-1 center had only taken five shots, making four, in a 73-70 win over Bowie State on Thursday.
“The game before this one, they were triple-teaming me,” Crawford said. “I can’t affect the game always by scoring. I can do it in other ways. But, overall, I think today we did a great job of taking advantage of whatever Georgia Southwestern had going on on defense.”
When he wasn’t getting dunks or hook shots, Crawford was moving the ball to the perimeter. Guard Miguel Arnold provided points from outside, as he had 17 points for 13th-ranked Augusta, including a key three-pointer down the stretch. Tyree Myers added 12 for the winners. Myers picked up his fourth foul midway through the second half and had to sit extensively.
“They stayed close the whole second half,” said AU assistant coach Zach Tinkham. “But our experienced showed. Our guys didn’t panic.”
The Hurricanes (0-1, 5-3) were led by Jordan Clark with 15 points, and Jamari Dean and Phillip Burwell each chipped in 13.
“At halftime I told them that was as bad as we can play,” said GSWU Coach Aaron Coombs. “A lot of that was what Augusta was doing. The second half I felt like it was more us. I thought our intensity on defense picked up and allowed us to run a bit. But Augusta doesn’t get rattled. They’ve played way bigger games than Georgia Southwestern.”
AU Coach Dip Metress was serving the first of a five-game conference suspension imposed by the NCAA dating back to academic improprieties in the program two seasons ago. He served a five-game suspension at the start of last season as well, but the NCAA determined that Metress would have to sit out a second round of games this season. It chose to impose them in conference play.
In the women’s game, GSWU won 64-54. Kiera Howard led AU (0-1, 6-2) with 20 points. The 15th-ranked Hurricanes (1-0, 6-1) pulled away with a 22-12 fourth quarter.
The Jaguars will host Columbus State on Monday, Dec. 12. Women’s game starts at 5:30 and the men’s contest at 7:30 p.m.
Guard Tyree Myers (2) goes up for a short jumper for Augusta University in its 74-65 win over Georgia Southwestern. At the top of the page, Darren Lucas-White (11) drives in for a layup against the Hurricane defense. (photos by Madison Keel)
Kiera Howard led the AU women with 20 points in the Peach Belt Conference opener with Georgia Southwestern, which won by 10. (photo by Madison Keel)
