Jaguar hoops teams take down Georgia College; women get 20th win
Justin Gray | Sports editor
It was a big night in Christenberry Fieldhouse for both the men and women of Augusta University as they both defeated Georgia College on Wednesday night, Feb. 28, in Peach Belt Conference basketball action.
The women squeaked out a win, 68-62, before the men ran away with a 89-70 victory.
The Jaguar men’s two-game losing skid came to an end with this victory, and they picked up right where they left off two weeks ago.
AU got out to one of its slowest starts of the season, only scoring six points through the first five minutes of the game.
The Jaguars quickly found a spark through freshman Zyere Edwards and went on an 18-2 run to take a 27-10 lead.
Georgia College fought back and made it a 29-20 game and the Jaguars only scored two points in four minutes.
Once again, the Jaguars found their spark and went on a 15-2 run to close the half and led 44-22 at the break.
These are signs of a team that has learned how to finish halves, and can be dangerous come tournament time.
Out of the half, Georgia College went on a run to cut the deficit to 12, on a good bit of free throws.
“You saw the stat sheet at halftime and decided to only let them go to the line this half,” exclaimed AU Coach Dip Metress to a referee.
The Jaguars settled in, finally getting some calls to go their way, and rolled to a dominant 19-point win.
Augusta showed what makes the Jaguars unbeatable at times—that is, their athleticism. Their ability to go on a run and play lockdown defense at any time is unmatched in the Peach Belt Conference. They have become a well-oiled machine in the second part of this schedule.
“Very proud of our team,” said Metress. “We just have to keep plugging along. I told them before the game we’re ninth in the regional poll, so let’s try to win our way into the NCAA tournament.”
They were led by Ja’Queze Kirby tonight, who had 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds. He’s averaged 14.3 points per game in six games against Georgia College in his career.
“I would say watching how they matchup,” said the Augusta Forward, regarding his success against GCSU. “Once you figure out how they guard you, put the pieces together and go get your buckets.”
Following Kirby was Demitri Gardner, who had a quiet 15 point performance in only 21 minutes on the court. Max Amadasun scored 13 points in the contest while grabbing 11 rebounds for another double-double.
The aforementioned spark provider, Edwards, totalled 10 points and five rebounds in his best game since returning from early conference-season knee injury.
“It’s been hard to not be able to produce how I want these last few weeks to help my team get wins,” said the guard from Savannah. “My teammates keep really encouraging me in practice, and I feel like it showed tonight.”
This Jaguar team is now 16-11 overall and 9-8 in the PBC. The Jags can clinch the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament with a win this Saturday, March 2, against USC Beaufort on Senior Day.
The two seniors being honored are Timmy Sellers and David Viti.
Now on to the No. 7 team in the Southeast region, the AU women.
Both teams opened up the game knocking down shots, going blow for blow throughout the first quarter. Georgia College had no answer for AU’s Yamani Paul as she knocked down two 3-pointers, leading Augusta to a 17-15 lead.
In the second quarter, the Jaguars separated themselves behind the hot hand of Autumn Phillips. They took a healthy 41-28 lead into the intermission.
Kalen Surles led the charge in the third quarter, and the Jaguars held a 53-39 advantage going into the final period of play.
Georgia College went on a run, cutting the deficit to only five and made the Jaguar faithful sit on their hands, but Augusta prevailed in the end.
This was the 20th win of the season for AU, the first time the Jaguar women have done such since the 2015-16 season.
“I’m so proud of our team,” said AU Coach Celeste Stewart. “I challenge them to keep striving to reach their full potential and I believe they have accepted the challenge game after game. It has been amazing seeing our program flourish over the years while being on staff here at Augusta and I’m fortunate to be a part of it. It’s a true testament to hard work, and dedication pays off.”
Augusta was paced by Phillips with 20 points, four rebounds and five assists.
Kalen Surles followed with 16 points, her season-high scoring output. She also grabbed six rebounds in the win.
Homecoming Queen Je’Bria Fullwood led the way on the board with 10.
The Jaguars are now the second seed heading into the tournament, regardless of Saturday’s result, because Georgia Southwestern won its game at Clayton State in overtime after trailing by eight late in regulation.
A positive for the Jaguars is they can still earn a share of the regular season Peach Belt Conference with a Georgia Southwestern loss to Flagler and a win at home against USC Beaufort on Saturday, March 2. Tipoff will be at 1:30 p.m.
Contact Justin Gray at jusgray@augusta.edu.
Zyere Edwards provided a nice spark in the win over Georgia College. At the top of the page, Ja’Queze Kirby fights to the basket. Pictures by Paula Toole.
