By Justin Brosemer |
Sports writer
Sports writer
The Augusta University men’s basketball team earned a 97-83 victory against Emmanuel College on Saturday, Dec. 12, at Christenberry Fieldhouse.
After a strong first half from both teams, AU would go into the locker room with a one-point lead at 43-42. Coach Dip Metress admitted post-game that a high-scoring first half against Emmanuel was outside of his team’s comfort zone when considering its usual pace. However, AU’s high-efficiency scoring on 72-percent second-half shooting earned the win and proved the Jaguars’ versatility.
This double-digit win moves the Jaguars to 2-0 on the season scoring a season-high 63-percent field goal percentage on 60 shots along with a 53-percent three-point night on 15 threes. Junior Miguel Arnold led the team with 25 points, along with seven assists and two rebounds. Junior Tyshaun Crawford added 23 points and seven rebounds. Junior Darren Lucas-White finished with 18 points.
“It feels good when you can get something going for your team and you see shots going in,” Arnold said after the game. “Going into the half with as close as the score was, we talked in the locker room about losing to them from a buzzer beater last year and we were going to make sure we did what was necessary to come out with some juice and get some stops so that we could pull away and take this win.”
Emmanuel has proved to be a stout opponent in past showings, including a win against an NCAA Division I opponent in Stetson University and the aforementioned AU loss by buzzer beater in their previous matchup. The team posted impressive shooting splits with 46-percent field goal accuracy, shot 50 percent on three-pointers and 91 percent on free throws. Although a lack of noise was present without the usual fan attendance, energy remained high in Christenberry Fieldhouse during Saturday due to the teams’ shared history, including a 74-71 Emmanuel win at the buzzer last December.
Much of the win was decided in the paint for Augusta , both offensively and defensively. This stems from the 28-to-22 rebounding difference favoring the Jaguars paired with dominant showings from AU’s big men Crawford and forward Lee Flenor when close to the basket.
“That’s always our plan: throw it to the big fella,” Metress stated after the win. “Emmanuel started doubling our big men often, which allowed [Tyshaun] Crawford to get it to players like we saw with the assists to Darren [Lucas-White] and Lee [Flenor].”
This victory over a strong opponent such as Emmanuel attests to Augusta University’s selection to win the Peach Belt Conference as determined by the league’s coaches as well as a No. 23 national ranking from the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Additionally, Crawford’s performance shows why he was selected to the PBC Preseason preseason all-conference team.
Troy Cracknell, who has battled a foot injury in the preseason, scored 12 points off the bench for the Jaguars. Timmy Sellers added four points, much to the delight of the small crowd sitting well behind the Augusta bench.
KJ Jones led the Lions (1-2) with 18 points, and Jayvion Rucker added 17.
Metress and the AU men hope to continue their strong season in their next game at USC Aiken on Wednesday, Dec. 16, and then at Lander on Dec. 20. Both are non-conference games replacing lost games from the pandemic.
“It was a good win against a good club,” Metress said. “That’s not to say we don’t have things to work on for a good defensive team like Lander coming up, but it was a good team effort tonight.”
