Jaguars adjusting to COVID-challenged hoops season (sports column)
By Jack Johnson | Sports writer
The Augusta University men’s basketball team competed in four contests in seven days spanning from Jan. 13-20. The Jaguars faced Flagler College, Georgia Southwestern State University, Columbus State University and Lander University and managed a break-even record of 2-2.
This stretch of games proved to be a crucial test for the Jaguars, who went into the week being ranked 10th in the NCAA Division II. However, the team recently sustained two devastating losses. Two seniors, who both started for the Jaguars, are now unavailable for the rest of the season due to heart complications as a result of contracting the novel coronavirus. The COVID-19 protocol stipulates that the rest for three months.
The two seniors now join three other players on the list of currently unavailable assets for the Jaguars. One of the seniors was relieved his medical situation was discovered in time.
“I’m glad that our medical staff was able to catch the issue before something bad happened to me,” he said. “I saw what happened to that player down at (the University of) Florida (Keyontae Johnson), and I’m thankful that I didn’t end up like him.”
The Gators’ Johnson, the preseason SEC player of the year, collapsed during a game at Florida State, was placed in a medically induced comma, eventually came of that and will sit out the rest of the season. His family and UF still have not stated exactly what caused his sudden collapse, although Johnson was one of several Gators who had COVID-19 in the fall.
AU Coach Dip Metress and his depleted Jaguars traveled to Saint Augustine, Fla., on Jan. 13 to take on the Flagler College Saints in a hard-fought contest. It was a close game throughout, but sadly the Jaguars came out of the contest with a final score of 70-64 in favor of the Saints.
The loss, however, did come with some good news as sophomore Lee Flenor and freshman John Whitehead III stepped up big time in the absence of their senior teammates. Flenor posted an impressive 19 points and 15 rebounds leading the team in both stats while Whitehead filled a crucial role providing nine points and seven rebounds as the only small forward currently available for the Jaguars.
After the game, junior point guard Tyree Myers talked about the absence of the two seniors sitting out the remainder of the season due to the COVID-19 protocol.
“We have a lot of young guys out there now and keeping our composure is going to be key moving on,” the Baltimore, Md., junior said. “Without our two out there, there’s a lot more freedom for us guards.”
The following Saturday, the Jaguars geared up to face Georgia Southwestern State University in yet another close game that the Jaguars couldn’t seem to pull off. After a final score of 67-66, coach
Metress had a long talk with his players in the locker room afterwards.
“It’s a tough road loss, our second in a row.,” he said. “I understand that we’re low in numbers but that can’t be an excuse for us. This was a tough one, but there’s nothing we can do about in now except to move on and get ready for Columbus on Monday.”
On Monday, Jan. 18, the Jaguars found themselves on the road again, this time facing the Columbus State Cougars. After a light practice on Sunday, the Jaguars entered the game with a chip on their shoulder after coming up short in their previous two contests.
This was yet another close game, but this time the Jaguars were able to come out with the win with a final score of 80-73. Darren Lucas-White led all scorers pouring on 25 points against the Cougars to go along with 7 rebounds and in the locker room said he was “tired of losing and needed to step up”. John Whitehead also played big minutes handing out 18 points to help lead the Jaguars to their first victory of the stretch.
Two days later on Wednesday, it was time for the final game of this difficult stretch, and the Jaguars were back on their home floor facing off against the Lander University Bearcats. This was a very back and forth game that saw several lead changes. With a final score of 78-73, the Jaguars were able to pull out another win marking their second straight and breaking even over this difficult stretch. The team looks as if they are growing more comfortable playing with each other as new players step up to fill large roles.
“I’m proud of you guys for playing hard for this stretch,” Metress said afterwards. “I know it wasn’t an easy task but that didn’t stop us.”
COVID-19 had an affect on yet another game on Saturday, Jan. 23, when the home contest with Clayton State University was cancelled due to a Lakers’ player testing positive for coronavirus. This was the fifth contest that has been postponed or cancelled due to the pandemic.
As a player, I know that losing games throughout the season is a terrible feeling as this is what the team works so hard for all season. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season pans out in terms of scheduling, and I for one, am very excited to see how the new look Jaguars will fair for the remainder of this unique sporting season. Hopefully, we can all remain in good health. Up next is USC Aiken at Aiken on Wednesday evening, Jan. 27.
Note: Jack Johnson is a sophomore post player for the AU men’s basketball team. Jack is a communication major at AU. Contact him at jacjohnson@augusta.edu.
