Jaguars rout Clayton State, will host PBC Tournament
By Carlos Rodriguez | Sports editor
The Augusta University men’s basketball team closed out the regular season by defeating Clayton State 99-73 on Saturday, Feb. 25, at Christenberry Fieldhouse.
Augusta (14-4, 23-5), finishes the season as Peach Belt Conference regular-season co-champions, as they ended in a tie with USC Aiken, which defeated North Georgia on Saturday.
The Jaguars have won back-to-back regular-season championships.
Augusta hosted Senior Day on Saturday, honoring four seniors: Darren Lucas-White, Miguel Arnold, Tyree Myers and Tyshaun Crawford. The four seniors are 121-36 at AU, and all four have scored more than 1,000 points, with Crawford nearing 2,000 for his career at Augusta.
Despite it being Senior Day, it was freshman Chris Britt who led the Jags, scoring a career-high 19 points. Crawford added 13, Lucas-White and Ja’Queze Kirby scored 12, and Miguel Arnold had 11.
During the first five minutes of the game, the Lakers kept it tight with the Jaguars, only trailing by one at the 14:45 mark. But a series of baskets by Britt, Kirby, David Viti and Demitri Gardner propelled a 9-0 run for AU.
Lucas-White had two outstanding sequences, scoring with flashy moves on back-to-back possessions to increase the Jags’ lead to 27-12 with 8:54 remaining in the half. AU continued to keep increasing its lead, expanding it to 20 after Arnold made a layup.
The Jaguars’ biggest lead of the half was 27, after Gardner made a layup to go up 46-19 with 2:13 left. Heading into halftime, Augusta was up 48-24.
The Jaguars continued dominating in the second half, going on a 7-0 run with baskets from Crawford and Lucas-White, who made shots on back-to-back possessions once again. Crawford also made a free throw and threw down a fast-break dunk on a feed from Lucas-White.
Myers gave Augusta a 32-point lead after knocking down mid-range jumper with 15:02 remaining. Gardner once again gave the Jags’ their biggest lead of the game of 33 points, after putting back up an offensive board for a layup, putting AU ahead 68-35.
The starters played limited minutes in the second half due to the large lead, so it gave a player like Britt a chance to showcase his talent. Britt caught fire in the second half, making shot and after shot. He either scored or assisted on six consecutive possessions, knocking down 3-pointers, mid-range jumpers or layups.
Every player got a chance to play and each one scored. Guys coming off the bench who barely get a chance like Alvar Peltoniemi, Carson Seeman, Daniel Allen and Isaiah Bertie continued the dominant effort the starters and role players laid down for them.
The bench, led by Crawford, went crazy after Bertie slammed home a dunk as the time winded down, putting the Jaguars up 99-72.
AU shot 55.6-percent from the field while Clayton State shot 44.6-percent. The Lakers dropped to 3-25 overall and 1-17 in the PBC, and they did not qualify for the PBC Tournament.
The PBC Tournament will be hosted by the Jaguars at Christenberry Fieldhouse. The tournament begins with the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 2, followed by the semifinals on Saturday and the championship on Sunday.
AU is seeded No. 2 in the tournament but will host because the No. 1 seed USC Aiken’s Convocation Center has been previously booked for the tournament dates for an event. The remaining teams are No. 3 North Georgia, No. 4 Lander, No. 5 Young Harris, No. 6 Columbus State, No. 7 Flagler and No. 8 Georgia Southwestern.
Augusta will play Flagler at 5 p.m. on Thursday, March. The Jaguars split the regular season series with the Saints.
In the women’s game Saturday, AU lost to Clayton State 63-56. Senior center Kennedi Manning had 15 points for the Jaguars (10-8, 17-11). Senior guard Kiera Howard added 11 points.
The Augusta women ended up tied for fourth in the PBC race. They will have the fifth seed in the PBC Tournament and will play fourth-seeded North Georgia on March 1 at 7:30 p.m. The tournament will be hosted by Georgia Southwestern in Americas.
Contact Carlos Rodriguez at carrodriguez @augusta.edu.
Freshman Isaiah Bertie goes in for a slam dunk for two points late in AU’s win over Clayton State. At the top of the page, senior guard Tyree Myers (2) handles the ball in his final home regular-season game for the Jaguars. (photos by Madison Keel)
David Viti shows his vertical on a dunk as Augusta University gained a 99-73 win over Clayton State on Senior Night. (photo by Madison Keel)
Kiera Howard (3) drives to the basket for AU in its 63-56 loss to Clayton State in the regular-season finale for both teams. Howard, the senior guard, had 11 points on Senior Night. (photo by Madison Keel)
AU guard Darren Lucas-White scores on a European-step layup; Lucas-White, the senior from Capitol Heights, Md., had 12 points and eight rebounds on Senior Night. (photo by Madison Keel)
Chris Britt (L) was the top scorer in the season finale, pouring in 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor. Britt, the freshman from Gastonia, N.C., also had two steals. Here he passes to teammate Dimitri Gardner. (photo by Madison Keel)
