Myers' career night lifts AU past Francis Marion
By Justin Brosemer | Sports writer
The Augusta University men’s basketball team earned a hard-fought 69-62 Peach Belt Conference win over Francis Marion University on Wednesday, Feb. 3, at Christenberry Fieldhouse.
In the process, AU Coach Dip Metress picked up his 499th career coaching win.
Darren Lucas-White, AU’s starting guard who had been averaging 14.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, went down early in the first half with an injury. This left the Jaguars with eight players, and no possible substitutions for guards Tyree Myers and Shaun Moss.
Myers, a junior from Baltimore, Md., picked up the slack and scored a career-high 34 points to the lead the Jaguars to victory.
“I saw Darren go down early, and we all knew if he could get back out there, he would,” Metress said after the game. “Obviously he wasn’t able to, and I tried to get him to go to the locker room to get with our trainer, but he stayed out there because he wanted to be with his guys. That’s just the type of player he is. All I can hope is that we get him back for our matchup Saturday.”
Augusta was able to build off a strong first half and never looked back. In the first 20 minutes of the game, the Jaguars were able to shoot 63.6 percent from the field, 58.3 percent on three pointers and 80 percent on free throws to end the half in the lead at 39-33.
The more notable part of the first half for the Jaguars came from the inspiring performance from point guard Myers. With Lucas-White out, Myers took it upon himself to keep the team’s head afloat, scoring 23 points with five three-pointers in the first half, beating his previous career-high of 21 points in just one half.
Entering the second half, there was a common understanding amongst the entirety of the team that this win would require levels close to perfection from all of them. This rang even more true seeing the night Francis Marion starter Holden Redparth was having, as he finished with 29 points on six threes.
Myers instilled a sense of determination in each of the timeout huddles and on the court with his 34-point showing in the victory.
“Getting a win was the only thing on my mind tonight,” Myers said afterwards. “We’re shorthanded. Darren couldn’t finish the game tonight, and we’re missing players like Miguel (Arnold) and Troy (Cracknell) and some other players, but we’re just out here fighting. Winning is the only thing on our mind, literally.”
In addition to Myers, other players on the shorthanded roster stepped up when needed, most notably Lee Flenor with his 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Flenor seemingly came through every time Augusta needed a bucket inside. He was a big reason that Augusta was able to outscore Francis Marion 22-8 in the paint.
Other big plays were made by Shawn Moss, Timmy Sellers and John Whitehead III. Moss was able to give perimeter relief to Myers and knocked down three big shots for his team, all of them three-pointers. Sellers and Whitehead III were able to maintain the team’s momentum with a pair of huge and-one buckets.
Flenor continued his outstanding play, adding 11 rebounds to his points total. He also had two steals and a blocked shot.
“I jokingly said this, but it’s true, ‘We’re the Wrightsboro Road Warriors right now,’” said Metress. “But we are not going to beg out, make up excuses not to play like some other teams are doing. We are going to play. If we have to play with six guys, then we’ll play with six guys.”
The Jaguars (6-3, 4-3) will now prep to host conference opponent Young Harris (3-4, 3-3) this Saturday, Feb. 6, at 3:30 p.m.
Contact Justin Brosemer at jbrosemer@augusta.edu.
Tyree Myers (2) drives in for two of his 34 points in Augusta’s win over Francis Marion. At the top of the page, Shawn Moss (4) fires in a three-pointer while Jack Johnson sets a screen for him. (photos by Justin Brosemer)
