Jaguar basketball opens up Peach Belt Conference play at USC Beaufort

Justin Gray | Sports editor 

Both the Augusta University men and women’s basketball teams will begin Peach Belt Conference play on the road at USC Beaufort on Wednesday, Jan. 3.

The women’s game begins at 5:30 p.m., with the men following at 7:30.

Let’s start with the women, led by Coach Celeste Stewart. The Jaguars (6-4) opened the season winning their first four games, including an upset victory on the road over No. 14 Wingate. After this impressive start, the women became nationally ranked at 24th.  

This set up a top-25 matchup with the new No. 14 in Anderson. The Jaguars fought hard, but were defeated 82-76. This kicked off what became a four-game losing streak for the AU women.  

However, they have since won their last two games, outscoring their opponents by 77 points, so it’s safe to say they are feeling good about themselves entering tonight’s conference opener.  

Senior Kennedi Manning has been the heartbeat of this team, averaging 14 points and nearly eight rebounds per game, not to mention she’s shooting 52 percent from the field.  

Fellow senior Tomiyah Alford has averaged 13 points per game, and junior Autumn Phillips is averaging 15 points per game. The two have also combined for 38 steals through 10 games.  

 USC Beaufort enters with a 4-4 record overall, and the Sand Sharks have won three of their last four—although they last played on Dec. 16. They are led by freshman forward Janiyah Heyward, who averages 16 points per game. Hayward is from Savannah.

On to the Jaguar men, who are led by their coach in his 20th year at AU, Dip Metress.  

After a shaky 2-2 start to the season, the Jaguars pulled off five straight victories, all coming at Christenberry Fieldhouse. However, their winning streak was snapped on Jan. 1 at Emmanuel.  

The Jaguars now hold a 7-3 record overall headed into PBC play, where they have been very successful over the years, including winning the last two conference crowns. This season, the PBC may be even tougher than before with nine of 10 teams having winning records entering tonight’s openers.  North Georgia. the preseason pick to the win title, is currently ranked seventh nationally and USC Aiken is 21st.

The Jaguars are a young team that has faced some obstacles early in the season, when trying to close out games, but the improvement on the court so far has been second to none.  

The Jaguar's’ three losses haven’t been to weak teams. Their first loss, to Fayetteville State, was just a buzzer-beater, and those things happen in basketball. Their other two losses came against Emmanuel (11-4) and Benedict (10-0). At the time, the Benedict loss stung, but the unbeaten Tigers are now up to No. 8 in the NABC D-II poll.  

All members of the Jaguar starting five have made their presence felt at some point in the season, but the most consistent guy has been shooting guard Demitri Gardner, who’s averaging 17 points per game on 50-percent from the field.

Center Max Amadasun has been a force inside, averaging a double-double with 15.4 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. His presence is felt whether he is scoring or just taking defenders with him to open things up for the shooters on the outside.  

David Viti has been on the floor for the Jaguars 86 percent of the time this season. He has been the most used player by far and hasn’t gotten into foul trouble in a game yet. When the Jaguars need a stop or points, they always turn to their leader, who is the second leading scorer on the team at 15.5 points per game game.

Ja’Queze Kirby, has had some struggles with foul trouble, but there are certainly games coming up that he can take over and make a real impact as he has at times in the pre-conference season. Kirby is averaging 13.1 points per game and is a terror on the boards and going after loose balls. Last, but not least is freshman Zyere Edwards, who had to become the starting point guard much quicker than anticipated. He has dished the ball well from the PG position, leading the team in assists with 35.  

The Jaguars will take on a 7-1 USCB team that hasn’t lost at home all season. Marcus Overstreet, a 6-foot-9 freshman center, leads the Sand Sharks with an 18.3 scoring average.

You can tune into both games here: https://pbcsportsnetwork.com/uscb/. 

 Contact Justin Gray at jusgray@augusta.edu. 

Demitri Gardner, who paces AU in scoring with 16.7 points per game, leads the Jaguars into their PBC opener tonight at USC Beaufort. At the top of the page, Max Amadasun has been averaging a double-double for the Jags. (photos by Paula Toole, AU Athletics)