Jaguars handle Georgia College on the road for their fifth sweep of a conference foe this season

Justin Gray | Sports Editor

The Augusta men went into enemy territory on Tuesday, Feb. 25, and came out victorious over Georgia College, 89-79.

This one went about as you’d expect. Georgia College got out to an early advantage with an 18-11 lead, the crowd was excited, and their players were feeling it.

Then reality hit, and so did the Jaguars, who went on a quick 18-2 run to erase the Bobcat lead and give themselves a nine-point advantage.

Even though it was early, it felt like this took the wind out of Georgia College’s sails and their will to win.

It didn’t stop there, as Augusta pummeled GCSU the rest of the first half and went into halftime with a 49-33 lead.

After the break, the Bobcats, who are fighting to lock up the eighth seed in the Peach Belt Conference tournament, tried to fight back and make it a game.

Every time they made a run, the Jaguars answered with one of their own, quickly taking away their comeback hopes.

There was one stretch that made things a little interesting when the Bobcats cut the deficit to eight points with 2:41 remaining.

The Jaguars knocked down free throws and got out of the Centennial Center with a win.

The main player at the free-throw line was John St. Germain III. The sophomore led Augusta with 27 points, just one shy of his career mark set at USC Aiken in his freshman season.

On top of that, he piled on four assists and three rebounds. He is currently second in the PBC in assists, averaging 4.6 per game.

“My mindset was just to kill whatever is in front of me,” said the point guard out of Charlottesville, Va. “We were just executing as a team, and I profited off of that.”

Behind him, Demitri Gardner had another solid performance on offense, scoring 22 points, but it was his defense that stood out.

He had three blocks and two steals, not to mention the six rebounds he pulled down.

Maximillian Amadasun came in and did his usual thing, picking up yet another double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Augusta outrebounded Georgia College 37-28.

In other storylines, GCSU’s best player, Zyair Green, who averages 19.8 points per game, was out with what seemed to be a wrist or hand injury.

This obviously changed the game plan for both squads and allowed the Bobcats’ freshman, Khalil Green, to put together his best performance yet with 33 points.

Oscar Lynch added 18 points and eight rebounds for the home squad.

For the Jags, it was nice to go on the road once again and handle business against a team they were supposed to beat.

“When that joker is on the left-hand column this time of year, that’s all we care about,” said head coach Dip Metress. “This is our fifth pair (sweep), and we’ve got a chance to get a sixth on Saturday at USC Beaufort.”

The matchup against Beaufort on Saturday will be one to watch because there’s a chance it will have no effect on Augusta’s seeding if USC Aiken loses tomorrow night.

Saturday’s game will begin at 3:30 p.m.

AU’s Elias Palsson goes up for a defended layup versus North Georgia (Photo by Paula Toole/AU Athletics). Top: Demetri Gardner goes up for a contested layup versus North Georgia (Photo by Paula Toole/AU Athletics).