Crawford, Jaguars down Barton College with dominant second half
By Carlos Rodriguez | Sports editor
With a dominant second half, the No. 2 ranked Augusta University basketball team defeated Barton College 77-65 on Saturday, Nov. 12, at the Pickle Classic hosted by Mount Olive in Wilson, N.C.
Tyshaun Crawford led the Jaguars with a double-double, scoring 23 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Miguel Arnold followed closely with 22 points. Ja’Queze Kirby also recorded a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
At the half the Bulldogs led the Jaguars by five, but a strong second half that included a 17-0 run allowed Augusta to outscore Barton 46-29 en route to the win.
The first three minutes of the game were filled with fouls and no field goal makes from either team. Barton started to get hot offensively and went on a 9-0 run to go up 20-10 after Reese McDonald knocked down a 3-pointer with nine minutes left in the half.
Marcus Boykin increased the Bulldogs’ lead to 11 after picking off a pass and finishing for a layup to go up 32-21 at the four-minute mark. Boykin was Barton’s leading scorer with 20 points.
With the clock running down in the half, Arnold banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut the deficit to five points as the Jags trailed the Bulldogs 36-31.
After seven minutes of play in the second half, AU was able to tie the game at 42 after David Viti knocked down a 3-pointer. This would propel AU to their 17-0 run. The very next possession Viti knocked down another 3-pointer after a pick-and-pop play to give the Jags a 45-42 lead.
The final play of their 17-0 run was a dunk by Crawford that put them up 59-42 with 6:44 remaining.
Barton scored six unanswered points after a foul by Tyree Myers and technical foul by Arnold sent Donaven Hairston to the line for four free throws. Boykin finished the unanswered run with a layup to trim AU’s lead to 65-55 with 2:44 left.
This would be the smallest the lead got as AU was sent to the free throw line several times and scored 10 of their final 12 points at the line to seal the game. The only points that didn’t come from free throws during the final stretch was a put-back reverse dunk by Kirby—yet another highlight reel by the sophomore forward.
Augusta dominated this game on the glass, outrebounding the Bulldogs 48-28. The Jaguars shot 45.3-percent from the field compared to Barton’s 32.8-percent.
Next up the Jags will host their first official home game Sunday, Nov. 20, against Fayetteville State at Christenberry Fieldhouse at 4 p.m. Augusta University will be honoring former athletic director Clint Bryant with a special halftime ceremony, officially renaming the court the Clint L. Bryant Court.
Contact Carlos Rodriguez at carrodriguez@augusta.edu.
