Jaguars’ comeback bid falls short at North Georgia
By Justin Gray | Sports editor
DAHLONEGA—The Jaguar men fell just short Saturday, Jan. 25, of an all-time comeback at North Georgia, 72-67, losing for only the second time in conference play this season.
“I told them (the players), the book is out on how to beat us, by being physical,” said AU Coach Dip Metress afterwards. “We’ve had two road conference losses, three of those four halves we have backed down. Now the second half we didn’t, so that’s a good sign.”
The first half in this game was the one where the Jaguars’ physicality was in question as they only mustered 21 points compared to UNG’s 36.
It’s worth mentioning that Augusta, which averages 16.9 free throws per game, did not shoot a single one in the first half and North Georgia shot 12.
Anyways, a 15-point deficit is never where you want to be, especially on the road in one of the best conferences in the country.
It would get larger than that before the Jaguars comeback started as th Nighthawk bulge rose to 18 points, 53-35, with 13:55 remaining in the game.
The Jaguars then pulled off a 22-8 run, cutting the lead to 61-57, behind Demitri Gardner and John St. Germain III.
AU closed the gap even more a few possessions late on another layup from Gardner.
Whatever flaw Metress and his staff saw in the North Georgia’s defense was very major because they allowed several easy takes to the hole for the Jaguars.
Augusta had a chance to tie it with under 20 seconds left, but Gardner and St. Germain both missed their 3-point opportunities, and the comeback fell just short.
This is not a major loss for the Jaguars as they will have several chances to make up for this one and North Georgia is among the top teams in the league.
Gardner led AU with 24 points and played 40 minutes for the second consecutive game.
He is now only 13 points away from 1,000 career points, so that’s something to watch for in the Jaguars next matchup.
St. Germain, the AU point guard, recorded a double-double with 21 points and 10 assists in the losing affair.
The double-digit assist is the Charlottesville, V.a. native’s career-high.
Max Amadasun also had a double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds. This is the first game AU has lost when he recorded a double-double.
North Georgia had four guys in double figures, Cayden Charles (20), AJ White (17), Hunter Shedenhelm (15, all on 3-pointers), and Zack Hawkinson (11).
The loss drops AU to 11-6 overall and 5-2 in conference play, they will try to bounce back on Wednesday, Jan. 29 as they host Georgia College at Christenberry Fieldhouse.
The Jaguars are in a four-way tie for second place behind league leader Columbus State. The other 5-2 teams are North Georgia (which is 13-6 overall), USC Aiken and USC Beaufort.
Contact Justin Gray at jusgray@augusta.edu
