No. 21 Flagler downs Augusta men in Peach Belt hoops
By Carlos Rodriguez | Sports editor
The Augusta University men’s basketball team suffered an 82-52 loss to the No. 21 Flagler at Christenberry Fieldhouse on Saturday, Feb. 13.
Despite being without their head coach and one of their starters, the Saints (10-2, 8-1) went back to St. Augustine, Fla., with a 30-point win.
A low-scoring half for both teams favored the Saints, who held the lead the entire game.
“We came out trying to hold the ball,” said AU coach Dip Metress. “Our numbers are down. We tried to give ourselves a chance to win. We got in a little bit of foul trouble which is hard for us.”
Forward Lee Flenor picked up two quick fouls, and Metress had to go to his COVID-depleted bench.
Meanwhile, Jaizec Lottie, a transfer from Division I Arkansas Little Rock, eventually warmed up and finished with 23 points for Flagler. Chase Fiddler poured in 20 points off the bench.
For Augusta, junior guards Tyree Myers and Darren Lucas-White finished with 16 and 14 points, respectively.
The Saints started the game with two quick post buckets from Chris Metzger to go up 4-0 with 17:25 remaining in the first half. AU sophomore Timmy Sellers made some noise by backing down his defender and freeing himself up for a dunk to cut Flagler’s lead to 7-6 with 13:42 remaining in the half.
Sellers cracked the starting lineup for the first time of the year and finished with six points.
“We wanted a big lineup,” said Metress. “We tried to go zone to give us a little more size out there. The zone was good for us. (Jaizec) Lottie, who’s really good, only had five at halftime.”
The Saints went up 27-16 after Fiddler knocked down a three in the final minute of the half. The Jags were able to score four points before time expired as senior Shawn Moss knocked down two free throws and Sellers made a shot to go into halftime down 27-20.
“We had seven baskets at halftime and six of them were within one foot from the basket,” Metress said. “That’s a concern.”
Foul trouble affected the Jaguars in the half as Myers had two fouls along with Flenor, Tyshaun Crawford and John Whitehead III.
Flagler came out with a lot of energy in the second half jumping out to a 38-23 lead after Metzger found Fiddler cutting to the basket for a dunk.
Myers cut the lead to 40-27 after making a floater in transition with 13:37 left to play. With nine minutes on the clock, Lottie knocked a three to go up 57-38.
“We came out the second half and tried to stick with the zone and stay in there,” Metress said. “It got to a point when it separated, we knew we’d have a hard time guarding them man-to-man, and we did and it showed.”
Fiddler gave the Saints even more energy after picking a steal and going full court to get slam another dunk, as Flagler went up 71-48 with 3:35 remaining. In the final seconds, Thomas Nelson made a jumper to wrap up the game.
“We weren’t able to make any baskets, and that’s a struggle for us right now,” said Metress. “We’ll readjust some things. We’re very limited offensively. The second half kind of were more aggressive, I’m not sure if it was better.”
Augusta (6-5, 4-5) was scheduled to play today (Feb.15) at North Georgia (2-7, 2-7) at 7:30 p.m., but the contest has been cancelled due to a positive COVID-19 test with the Nighthawks. Metress is in search of his 500th career win as a head coach, and his quest to earn that victory will have to wait until Wednesday night for a home date with rival USC Aiken.
Contact Carlos Rodriguez at carrodriguez@augusta.edu.
AU’s Darren Lucas-White (11) drives to the basket against Flagler’s Tyler Collier (5). (photo by Viraj Bulla)
Guard Tyree Myers (2) led Augusta with 16 points, including two three-points. Here he shoots over the Saints’ standout Jaizec Lottie. (photo by Viraj Bulla)
