Jaguars fall to No. 19 Florida Southern in home opener
Justin Gray | Sports editor
The Augusta University men dropped their home-opening basketball game for the second consecutive season, this time to No. 19 Florida Southern, 78-68, on Sunday, Nov. 17, at Christenberry Fieldhouse.
This was another game in which the Jaguars led by double digits but couldn’t hold on. That means in all three of their losses they led by at least 10 points.
The Jaguars knew this one would be tough regardless against a veteran FSC team that has a lot of experience in big games, including a win over defending national champion Minnesota State.
Augusta got off to a dream 7-0 start before Florida Southern could get on the board, and the Jaguars (0-3) were able to hold onto the lead for the entire first half, going into the break with a 33-28.
It was a good half, but it could’ve been even better, as the Jaguars left a lot of points on the floor and turned the ball over 10 times.
AU has not been great with full-court pressure all year, and Florida Southern knew that and took advantage of this. The Moccasins pressured point guard John St. Germain III deep in the backcourt and looked to trap. This led to a slow of AU turnovers.
One thing the Mocs (5-1) couldn’t game plan against was Maximillian Amadasun, who had 13 points and four rebounds at halftime.
Leading scorer Demitri Gardner’s presence was felt more on the defensive side of the ball rather than the offensive side where he had only eight points. He went on to finish the game with his first career double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The second half turned out to be all Florida Southern as the Mocs, forcing the ball inside, started on an 8-1 run to take a two-point lead.
The Jaguars fought back and took another lead, but that would be the final time they grabbed it as FSC started to run away with things.
Augusta’s chances to make a comeback dropped tremendously when Amadasun was called for a flagrant 2 foul and ejected from the contest.
The foul came after a 3-pointer from teammate Elias Palsson, who finished with 12 points, and Amadasun grabbed the ball from the hoop and the ball hit FSC’s Peyton Gerald (No. 13) in the face. The referees determined there was ill will behind the play.
“I have a habit of taking the ball out of the net when we score,” Amadasun said. “When I turned around No. 13 on the opposing team was there, and they (the refs) thought I intentionally hit him in the face.”
Amadasun and Gerald met in the hallway that leads to both locker rooms, and Amadasun made sure he knew he didn’t do it on purpose.
“I know; it was just basketball,” replied Gerald.
It was an unbelievable call in such a tight game. The technical foul was an appropriate call, but the craziest part was the ejection. And Amadasun will have to sit out Wednesday night’s game with Fayetteville State.
The refs also missed a flagrant foul against Florida Southern when Evan Joyner drove to the hoop in the second half, just before the key Amadasun play. Joyner was sandwiched hard between two Mocs but only a regular shooting foul was called. Evans, already playing with a sore foot, made of the two free throws before coming out, never to return to action.
Augusta would be outlasted in the long run despite a comeback attempt led by guard Zyere Edwards, who finished with eight points and four rebounds.
The Jaguars were outscored in the second half by 15 points, and this Jaguar team has had a hard time playing two complete halves in this season to date.
“Disappointed, but we lost to a good team,” said Coach Dip Metress. “We had guys trying to play too fast and other times trying to play too slow..”
The Mocs essentially won the game at the foul line, making 18 of 20 from the stripe. The Jaguars, who won the battle of the boards 40-32, were 11 of 15.
Gerald led FSC with 17 points, while Alex Steen added 15 points and eight boards.
Augusta did make 7-of-19 3-point attempts, good for a respectable 37 percent. Palsson was 4 of 6 on treys.
Things don’t get any easier for Augusta as the Jaguars will host Fayetteville State on Wednesday, Nov. 20.
The Broncos from FSU are 3-1 with their only loss being by two points. In an exhibition, the Broncos only fell 77-71 to UNC Wilmington, which is an NCAA Division I squad that beat Georgia Southern by eight and will play Kansas on Nov. 19.
Wednesday’s game will begin at 7:30 p.m.
Contact Justin Gray at jusgray@augusta.edu.
Max Amadasun (17) gets two of his 17 points on a half hook over Florida Southern’s Amare Miller. At the top of the page, AU’s Luis Nonfon s(24) crambles for a loose ball on the floor against the Mocs’ Hugo Mattioli (77) in the home opener for the Jaguars. (photos by Lydia Williams/the Bell Ringer)
AU’s Evan Joyner (0) goes up for two points against Florida Southern, which defeated the Jaguars 78-68 on Sunday, Nov 17, at Christenberry Fieldhouse. (photo by Lydia Williams/the Bell Ringer)
