Augusta falls at Clemson but prepares for part 2 of the exam, Georgia Southern

Kyle Doyle (right) and Deane Williams (left) defend Clemson's Gabe Devoe Thursday.

Hopes of an Augusta University upset at Clemson faded soon after halftime Thursday when the Tigers outscored the Jaguars 49-23 in the final 20 minutes to hand Clemson an 80-56 exhibition game win over Augusta. The Jaguars led by as many as 11 in the first half and took a 33-31 lead into intermission.

“In the first half we were pretty good. In the second half we couldn’t match their physicality,” Augusta coach Dip Metress said after the game.

The Jaguars out-rebounded Clemson 22-17 in the first half, converting 8 second chance points along the way. Augusta was led by Deane Williams (11 points and 9 rebounds), Tyvez Monroe (11 points), TC Fields (10 points and 6 rebounds), and Kyle Doyle (9 points and 7 rebounds).

Full Game Highlights

Williams echoed his coach’s comments in our post game interview: “I felt like we held our own in the first half. In the second half they just got more aggressive. That’s the difference between division 1 and division 2. Size is a big factor.”

Metress and Williams both pointed towards Friday’s home game against Georgia Southern, a special game that will raise money for hurricane relief, as another opportunity to learn before the regular season starts.

“I told them it’s a three part exam. Tonight’s the first part. Tomorrow against Georgia Southern is the second part. And Sunday’s scrimmage on the road is the final part,” coach Metress said.

Georgia Southern’s visit will mark the first time a Division 1 team has played at Christenberry Fieldhouse, Augusta’s home, since the Jaguars made the move from Division 1 to Division 2 over 25 years ago.

Who's ready to #StormTheBerry this Friday! Jags host Georgia Southern! @AUG_MBB https://t.co/NAaGOpBS75 pic.twitter.com/RB0szHu4eM

— AugustaJags (@AugustaJags) November 1, 2017

Also noteworthy will be the return to the Augusta area of junior Tookie Brown, Georgia Southern’s all conference guard who famously knocked out Laney High from the semifinals of the state playoffs in 2015 while playing for Morgan County HS. Brown scored 32 points in the second half of that game. He scored over 3,000 points in his four years of high school.