AU’s Crawford steps up big in Jaguars’ victory over Fayetteville State
By Aaron Smith | Sports writer
Augusta University’s Tyshaun Crawford literally stands heads and shoulders above most of the centers who try to guard him in NCAA Division II men’s basketball.
And that certainly was the case on Sunday, Nov. 20, as AU’s Crawford dominated in the Jaguars’ 70-54 win over Fayetteville State University at Christenberry Fieldhouse, recording a monster double-double and several blocked shots.
On a night when AU honored retired athletics director Clint Bryant with a halftime ceremony officially renaming the Christenberry floor the Clint L. Bryant Court, the 7-foot-1 Crawford poured in 26 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks to lead the Jags (3-0) to victory.
The second-ranked Jaguars were without the services of forward Ja’Queze Kirby, who was dealing with a sprained ankle and has been a consistent scoring threat and rebounding machine for AU.
The Fayetteville State University Broncos (1-5) got off to a hot start in the first half, leading 21-18 at the 10-minute mark, but Crawford scored 16 in the first half to push the Jaguars ahead by six at the end of the half.
Crawford said that he was proud of how the team responded heading into the second half.
“Our guys did a great job sticking together,” Crawford said afterwards. “Teams are going to come out excited, but we knew we had to stay consistent, and everything would be fine. I noticed that we started to pick it up towards the end of the half, and I really appreciate the job we did.”
Crawford continued his impressive play in the second half, scoring 10 points and throwing down several dunks that helped energize the crowd of 1,637.
The Jaguars led by as many as 20 points in the second half, and defense was a big area of emphasis for Crawford.
“We just continued to stay posed,” Crawford said. “We didn’t want to get too ahead of ourselves, and we stayed disciplined. Coach said we have to get stops, so we focused on the defensive end.”
Crawford’s outstanding offensive performance included an impressive free throw showing, going 8 of 8 from the free-throw line. On Saturday at an afternoon practice, he was the last player on the foul line, needing to make a free throw for practice to end. He canned that last one, to the relief of his teammates.
AU Coach Dip Metress said that Crawford’s play on both the offensive and defensive ends had a tremendous impact on the game.
“They decided to double him a lot,” Metress said. “He’s a handful down there because he’s so big. He made all of his free throws, and he contested a bunch of shots at the rim. He was really good today.”
Crawford echoes the same sentiments as Metress about how he shaped the game for the Jaguars.
“They just couldn’t stop me,” Crawford said. “That’s all it was. I’m not a kid. I’m too big for them to guard me one on one.”
AU travels to Columbia, S.C., to play Benedict on Tuesday, Nov. 22, at 7:30 p.m.
The Jaguars also raised an Elite Eight banner before the contest. AU advanced to the NCAA Division II national championship game in March.
Contact Aaron Smith at madsmith@augusta.edu.
Tyshaun Crawford (0) and Tyree Myers (2), along with their Jaguar teammates, stand next to the latest Elite Eight banner to be raised in Christenberry Fieldhouse. At the top of the page, Crawford jumps center against Fayetteville State’s 6-foot-7 D'Marco Baucum, and, as usually is the case, the Jaguars’ 7-1 center won the opening tip. (photos by Madison Keel)
