USC Aiken too much for Jaguar men on Blackout Night
Justin Gray | Sports editor
The USC Aiken men’s basketball team walked into a hostile Christenberry Fieldhouse and handled the Jaguar men, 85-76, on Saturday, Feb. 8.
The thorn in Augusta’s side has been their archrival, losing six of their last seven games in the rivalry. The lone win came in the 2023-24 season in double overtime on the road, 98-93.
Both teams were ready to roll out of the gate as they went blow for blow. It was USCA who got the early advantage with a 24-14 lead through 10 minutes and some change.
The Jaguars then flipped the script on the Pacers, going on a 24-14 run of their own to close the half with things tied up at 38.
Evan Joyner was instrumental to the AU success in the first half, scoring nine points and making some “big boy” plays.
Out of the gate in the second half it was all Aiken as they quickly went on a 9-0 run in just 2:24 of play.
That separation proved to be huge as it never felt like Augusta (8-3, 14-7) was within striking distance, as the closest they cut it the rest of the way was seven points.
This closed out the Pacers fourth straight win on the Jaguars floor, the last time they lost there was the 2021-22 season.
USC Aiken’s success came mainly from two guys and they were guys AU has faced before in Jalen McCoy and Rhyjon Blackwell.
Together they scored 57 of the Pacers’ 85 points, McCoy with 33 and Blackwell with 24.
One of the biggest statlines in this one was Simeon German, who had 11 rebounds, six of those coming on the offensive glass.
Augusta was led by Maximillian Amadasun with 22 points and 11 rebounds. John St. Germain III totalled 20 points, five rebounds and five assists.
This one will frustrate the Jaguars for a while because without those turnovers to start the half, you feel like you’re in this ballgame with a chance to win. Augusta finished with 12 turnovers, but the Pacers (8-3, 15-6) only had six.
AU Coach Dip Metress pinned down one thing that has hurt the Jags in this matchup this season.
“Where they are really good, we are really young and we gotta get these guys grown up,” he said. “More importantly, we’ve got to move on and get ready for Flagler.”
That’s who’s next on the Augusta schedule, on the road at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 12.
The loss puts the Jaguars behind the eight ball a bit as far as winning the conference and hosting the PBC tournament because now they are one game behind Columbus State, which is 9-2 in the league, and tied in second place with USC Aiken, which has the tiebreaker over AU. USC Beaufort also is tied for second with an 8-3 PBC mark.
There still is a lot of basketball to be played, of course. The best thing for Augusta is to just keep winning games and let the chips fall where they may.
In the women’s game, AU coasted to victory over the Pacers by a 69-44 score. The Jaguars (7-4, 15-6) were led by Nyaneit Puok with 12 points.
Augusta will play at Flagler at 5:30 on Feb. 12.
Contact Justin Gray at jusgray@augusta.edu.
AU’s John St. Germain III (4) drives in with a left-handed layup as USC Aiken’s Chedlet Delva (15) and Davion Cunningham (2) defend; Jaguar center Lucas Oliver (13) prepares to rebound. At the top of the page, AU’s Max Amadasun is surrounded by Pacers Simeon German (24) and Rafael Rubel (23). (photos by Paula Toole/AU Athletics)
Augusta’s Nyaneit Puok (11) led the way with 12 points in the Jaguars’ blowout win over USC Aiken. The senior from Des Moines, Iowa, also had four rebounds and two assists. (photo by Paula Toole/AU Athletics)
