AU women remain tied for PBC lead after win at Flagler; Jaguar men fall to 1-4 in the league
Justin Gray | Sports editor
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla.—The Augusta University women moved to 5-0 in the Peach Belt Conference with a 66-58 win over Flagler at the Saints’ gym on Wednesday, Jan. 17.
Afterwards, in the men’s game, Augusta fell 75-62 to Flagler (2-3, 9-6).
After a 297-mile drive down to St. Augustine, the Jaguars got off the bus and went into a raucous gym.
The Jaguars handled it well early on, but things took a turn for the worst after Flagler’s 20-4 late in the first half.
The Jaguar men found themselves down by 18 at halftime, and it was going to be tough to recover.
“It was the worst half of basketball I’ve coached in my 20 years at Augusta University,” said Jaguar Coach Dip Metress. “We had 10 turnovers; we gave them the ball 10 times; we cannot do that.”
Augusta (1-4, 8-7) battled in the second half, but were never able to get it closer than 12 points. This was a tough situation for the Jaguars and a tough environment to play in.
The Jaguars did not play well at all. They only shot 38 percent from the field and 19 percent from behind the arc. These are not winning numbers from the Jaguars, who shoot it at one of the most efficient rates in the Peach Belt Conference.
The Jaguars were led in scoring by Demitri Gardner, who has been “Mr. Consistent” this season. He had 16 points in the loss.
“We’ve got to come together in these tight situations,” said the sophomore shooting guard. “We have got to come into the game the day before ready to play instead of just coming ready to play on the day of.”
John St. Germain III (11 points) and Ja’Queze Kirby (10 points) followed Gardner in scoring. On the glass, Max Amadasun led the way with 10 rebounds. Oddly enough, six of those were offensive.
Freshman Zyere Edwards played his most minutes since Jan. 3 at USC Beaufort with 26 minutes. He played his best defense of the year, totaling three steals and defended well all around.
“We have to find our identity,” said the guard from Savannah. “Mainly our defensive identity, we are giving up too many easy buckets.”
Flagler was led by Destin Clark in scoring with 26 points, followed by Jax Bouknight with 17. The Saints shot 54.5 percent from the floor and won the rebounding battle 26-20.
The Jaguars will take the court again on Saturday, Jan. 20, at Georgia Southwestern (3-2, 11-4) at 7:30 p.m.
Onto a more positive note, the Jaguar women (5-0, 11-4) picked up their seventh straight win before the men’s game started.
The AU women had been dominating their previous opponents, but this was a tougher matchup, especially with it being on the road.
The Jaguars trailed up until 53 seconds in the second quarter when forward Yamani Paul, the transfer from Kennesaw State, made a jumper to tie it at 28 heading into the half.
Augusta was in this game at the half without its best shooter, Autumn Phillips, having a point in the opening half. If the Jaguars could get her going, they would come away with the win.
She certainly got going, scoring 15 points in the second half.
Tomiyah Alford led AU with 16 points, followed by Phillips (15) and Kennedi Manning (14).
Scoring wasn’t the only place the 6-foot-1 Manning shined as she totaled 13 rebounds and four blocks. Once again, she controlled the game in the paint.
The visiting Jaguars shot 43 percent from the field and were dominant on defense by forcing 16 turnovers.
Sharale McCormick led Flagler (1-4, 6-9) in scoring with 28 points. She also grabbed 10 rebounds.
“This definitely was a big win for us,” said AU Coach Celeste Stewart. “It’s hard to win on the road, and Flagler is a talented team. I’m proud of our team's fight and togetherness throughout the course of the game.”
Augusta’s now 5-0 conference record ties them with Lander for first place in the Peach Belt. AU and Lander will face Wednesday, Jan. 24. Before that one, the Jaguars will take on Georgia Southwestern on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
Contact Justin Gray at jusgray@augusta.edu.
AU center Max Amadasun (17) looks for a passing outlet as Zyere Edwards screens Flagler’s Spencer Bain (3) and Carson Seemann (4) attempts a cut off the screen. At the top of the page, the Jaguars’ Tomiyah Alford (12) gets a ball screen from teammate Kennedi Manning. (photos by Justin Gray)
