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| Left to Right: Tyree Myers, Miguel Arnold and Darren Lucas-White |
Lucas-White, a junior who is averaging 22 points through three games, also tallied 4 steals, 4 assists and 4 rebounds in addition to making probably the most important shot of the game, a three pointer with 1:27 remaining that gave Augusta breathing room in the form of a 65-60 lead.
“You have to be confident with it," Lucas-White said about the shot in the post game interview above. "As soon as I let it go I knew it was in."
The play of fellow junior Tyree Myers was also indispensable as the point guard scored 15 points, dished out 8 assists and nabbed 3 steals in 39 minutes of action. Lucas-White played all 40 minutes in the contest. While many of Tyree’s contributions were recorded in the stat sheet, like the assist he made to Darren to put Augusta ahead by 5 late in the second half, several of the game’s biggest plays were of the kind that aren't recorded. After the game, Augusta head coach Dip Metress talked extensively about the difficulty of playing without key players, and specifically about the leadership shown by his starting guards.
“The two guys (Lucas-White and Myers) over there that you interviewed," Metress started. "We just hopped on their back and said we'll ride it."
“You have to be confident with it," Lucas-White said about the shot in the post game interview above. "As soon as I let it go I knew it was in."
The play of fellow junior Tyree Myers was also indispensable as the point guard scored 15 points, dished out 8 assists and nabbed 3 steals in 39 minutes of action. Lucas-White played all 40 minutes in the contest. While many of Tyree’s contributions were recorded in the stat sheet, like the assist he made to Darren to put Augusta ahead by 5 late in the second half, several of the game’s biggest plays were of the kind that aren't recorded. After the game, Augusta head coach Dip Metress talked extensively about the difficulty of playing without key players, and specifically about the leadership shown by his starting guards.
“The two guys (Lucas-White and Myers) over there that you interviewed," Metress started. "We just hopped on their back and said we'll ride it."
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| Tyree Myers - Augusta |
About the play Myers made with 2:30 remaining in the game when he dove on the floor to retrieve a loose ball to allow Augusta to retain possession, Metress shared a saying of his. And he described the value of such an action by Myers, as well as other such plays by Lucas-White, Lee Flenor and others.
"First to the floor gets the ball man. They're always the first to the floor." Metress explained. "There were a couple other ones. We ran loose balls down and saved them back in. Lee saved one and threw it back, and Darren was there to pick it up. Games like this... these are possession games.."
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| 7-1 Center Tyshaun Crawford defends Georgia College's Austin Sloan. |
While foul trouble allowed for only 18 minutes of playing time for 7-1 center Tyshaun Crawford, who entered Saturday’s game averaging 20 points and 9 rebounds, Augusta received valuable contributions, especially during the second half, from sophomore forward Lee Flenor, who scored 9 of his 11 points after halftime and hauled in 7 rebounds during the game, and freshman John Whitehead, who scored 7 of his 9 in the second half, and also snagged 6 boards in the first college start for the former Glenn Hills High School star.
Whitehead and Flenor scored all 10 points for Augusta during a second half stretch in which the Jaguars outscored the Bobcats 10-4 right after Georgia College took a 52-49 lead, its largest of the game, on a Christian Koneman jumper with 9:59 remaining. The spurt by the pair of forwards began when Whitehead scored on a feed from Crawford, but failed to convert the three point play at the free throw line, cutting the deficit to 52-51 with 9:47 left. Then Wesley Simpson, who along with Kohl Roberts led Georgia College with 14 points, scored on the opposite end to put the Bobcats ahead by three. Whitehead answered by draining a three pointer from the top of the key to tie the game at 54 with 8:11 remaining.
Whitehead and Flenor scored all 10 points for Augusta during a second half stretch in which the Jaguars outscored the Bobcats 10-4 right after Georgia College took a 52-49 lead, its largest of the game, on a Christian Koneman jumper with 9:59 remaining. The spurt by the pair of forwards began when Whitehead scored on a feed from Crawford, but failed to convert the three point play at the free throw line, cutting the deficit to 52-51 with 9:47 left. Then Wesley Simpson, who along with Kohl Roberts led Georgia College with 14 points, scored on the opposite end to put the Bobcats ahead by three. Whitehead answered by draining a three pointer from the top of the key to tie the game at 54 with 8:11 remaining.
“It looked good," Metress said of Whitehead's game tying three. "It's a footwork thing with John. He spends a lot of time at it."
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| Darren Lucas-White (left) and John Whitehead III |
Flenor followed Whitehead’s pair of buckets with two of his own, the first a nifty catch and finish on a high-low feed from Crawford, and the second a three point play on a physical post move that gave Augusta a 59-56 lead with 5:59 left and brought Augusta’s bench to their feet as they screamed with approval.
The final minutes were “ugly,” to use Metress's words. But in addition to Lucas-White’s game sealing three pointer, another thing that was as pretty as can be for Augusta’s fans was the 18 footer Myers drained to give the Jaguars a 61-60 lead with 3:47 remaining, which answered two consecutive Georgia College field goals by Austin Sloan and Simpson that put the Bobcats back on top by a point after Flenor and Whitehead’s run.
Metress emphasized the fact that the shot by Myers came on a play that Augusta would usually run for one of its "shooters" who were unavailable Saturday, stressing the versatility and value of a leader like Tyree.
"The things we run for our two-guards, who are usually shooters... that's not their game," Metress said about Myers and Lucas-White. "Tyree made that one off the screen that he usually doesn't even shoot. His footwork was great."
After Myers put the Jaguars ahead, Lucas-White’s bomb from the right corner was the only other field goal Augusta scored in the remaining 4 minutes. I asked Darren in our post game interview what he screamed when he ran back down court after he made the game sealing three pointer.
“The only thing I said was..." Darren laughed. "'I need that'. That's all I said."
Augusta "needed" everything Darren and his seven other available teammates had to give Saturday. And they certainly delivered.
"The things we run for our two-guards, who are usually shooters... that's not their game," Metress said about Myers and Lucas-White. "Tyree made that one off the screen that he usually doesn't even shoot. His footwork was great."
After Myers put the Jaguars ahead, Lucas-White’s bomb from the right corner was the only other field goal Augusta scored in the remaining 4 minutes. I asked Darren in our post game interview what he screamed when he ran back down court after he made the game sealing three pointer.
“The only thing I said was..." Darren laughed. "'I need that'. That's all I said."
Augusta "needed" everything Darren and his seven other available teammates had to give Saturday. And they certainly delivered.
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