Crawford, Kirby lead Jaguars past Emmanuel, 83-74
By Chris Rickerson | Special to the Bell Ringer
Top-seeded Augusta University defeated eighth-seeded Emmanuel 83-74 on Saturday, March 11, at Christenberry Fieldhouse in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional.
Augusta, led by Tyshaun Crawford and Ja’Queze Kirby, is hosting the Southeast Regional tournament for their second year in a row after winning the Peach Belt Conference tournament on March 5.
Emmanuel, the Conference Carolinas champion, saw its 16-game winning streak snapped by the Jaguars (27-5), who have won seven straight since a late-season home loss to USC Aiken. But the Lions made things interesting down the stretch. The Jaguars, who had led 40-30 at halftime, were up 65-49 with 7:30 left to play, but the Lions closed to within 76-72 with 57 seconds left on a Tavarus Webb layup.
In the last minute, AU’s Crawford hit one free throw, and then Tyree Myers and Kirby both hit two foul shots to close out the win.
“Before the game we talked about how Emmanuel has won 16 in a row and how they won’t quit,” said Augusta Coach Dip Metress. “We got up early, we got up 10 at half time and a then a great program like that, there just not going to die. Give credit to them they battled back. It was a good win for us, the hardest one is always the first one.”
The Jaguars cruised to an early 11-2 lead, which included two 3-pointers from Kirby.
AU’s lead would increase to 12, but Emmanuel’s 8-0 run brought the lead to only two points with the Jaguars ahead 30-28 with 3:44 left in the first half.
The Jaguars finished the first half with all the momentum and that 40-30 lead going on a 10-2 run that ended on a buzzer beater 3-pointer by Miguel Arnold .
Kirby led the Jaguars’ scoring with 15 points in the first half, shooting 6 of 7 from the field and 3 of 4 from three. He finished with 20 points total in the game.
“He did really good considering he didn’t practice yesterday,” Metress said. “He was dynamite tonight. He wasn’t 100 percent, but he was just good.”
While Augusta continued to stay in control the majority of the second half, 3-pointers by Emmanuel’s Jasper Gibson and Kelvin Jones brought the Jaguars lead down to 49-45 with 13:12 remaining in the game.
Augusta pushed ahead 75-62 behind the scoring of Crawford, the Peach Belt Conference most valuable player. Crawford, who led the game in scoring with 29 points, shot 8 of 15 from the field and 13 of 19 from the free-throw line .
Chris Dees was lights out from three for the Lions as well, shooting 6-9 and leading Emmanuel in scoring with 24 points . He brought the lions back late and put AU’s lead to only four points with 57 seconds remaining in the game. The Jaguars defended converted their free throws late to secure the win 83-74.
NCAA Division II scoring leader Kelvin Jones played all 40 minutes for Emmanuel, finishing with 21 points and 10 rebounds. He would struggle as well with eight turnovers
Darren Lucas-White took on the task of guarding Jones later in the game. White finished with force 4 steals in the game and had some late meaningful rebounds in the win.
“I just want to show everybody that I am more than just wanting to score the ball, I am trying to show everybody I can play defense as well,” Lucas-White said. “I just want to help my guys win with anything I can do, rebound, pass the ball or even score as well.”
Augusta will advance to face USC Aiken, which beat Catawba 88-79. The semifinal matchup between rivals will be played on Sunday, March 12, at 7:30 p.m. The Pacers swept the regular-season series.
North Georgia will play Lincoln Memorial at 5 p.m. in the other semifinal.
Arnold added 12 points for the top-seeded Jaguars, who shot 49 percent overall and 50 percent on 3-pointers. Lucas-White added eight points and four steals.
Augusta forced 18 turnovers and had only 11 miscues. The Jaguars made eight more free throws than the Lions.
Emmanuel ended the season with a 23-8 record.
“We’re maybe the smallest D2 school in the country,” said Emmanuel Coach TJ Rosene. “I think all we’ve ever known is being counted out. I thought we were a little better than the No. 8 seed, but nobody’s pouting, nobody’s complaining. We were excited about playing here, and we know we have a good basketball team—and we fight.”
That they did. To the very end. But AU’s experience and foul shooting were just enough to push the Jaguars into the semifinals.
Contact Chris Rickerson at rickersonchristopher@gmail.com.
AU’s Ja’Queze Kirby (13) feeds the post while being guarded by Emmanuel’s Tavarus Webb (21); Kirby had 20 points and six rebounds in the Jaguars’ 83-74 win. At the top of the page, Augusta center Tyshaun Crawford led all scorers with 29 points. (photos by Madison Keel)
Jaguar guard Miguel Arnold makes a pass during the Jaguars’ Southeast Regional victory over Emmanuel. Arnold had 12 points in AU’s quarterfinal victory. (photo by Madison Keel)
