Jaguars use big second half to rout Reinhardt, 97-62
Staff report
The Augusta University men’s basketball team outscored Reinhardt University 61-31 in the second half en route to a 97-62 win over the Eagles on Thursday, Dec. 18, in front of 2,703 at Christenberry Fieldhouse.
Tobias Prall led the second blitz for the Jaguars (7-7) with a layup and 3-pointer to the open second half and give the home team a 41-31. Prall would finish with a game-high 23 points that included a 6-of-12 clip on 3-point attempts.
“The second half we came out of the gates pretty good,” said AU coach Dip Metress, who now has 596 career victories. “We played better. We changed something on the break. We are doing something we did in Deane Williams’ last year. We are trying to get the ball moving in transition.”
The Jaguars finished with 26 fast-break points, 17 more than the Eagles.
Reinhardt did cut the lead to 43-38 before Prall got an old-fashioned three-point play and Charlie McBeath canned a 17-footer for 48-38. The lead built to 60-38 before Reinhardt coach Richard Morgan called a timeout to stem the tide.
Prall, the junior guard from Trenton, N.J., got plenty of help from Elías Pálsson, who finished with 14 points, and McBeath, who totaled 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Daniel Daramola, the 6-foot-9 freshman, got the start at center and had nine points in 21 minutes on Columbia County Education Day at Christenberry.
The Jaguars shot 54 percent from the field and held the Eagles (5-9) to a 38-percent shooting day.
Reinhardt, who had won four of its previous five coming into Thursday’s game, was led by Tucker Lowe with 11 points and Derrick Brown.
The two teams competed intently in the first half with three lead changes. AU had the largest lead at 22-14, but a 13-4 run by the Eagles put them ahead 27-26.
Prall answered with a 3-pointer, and an 8-4 Jaguar run gave the hosts a 36-31 lead at the break.
“We played well in the first half,” said Reinhardt’s Morgan, the former all-Atlantic Coast Conference guard for the University of Virginia. “We did not come out with the same fire in the second half. We have a game tomorrow at Samford, and, I don’t know, they have been worried about that.”
Morgan, who led the Cavaliers to the Southeast Regional final in 1989 before they lost to eventual national champion Michigan, said he was impressed with the Jaguars.
“They’re good,” Morgan said. “They can shoot the ball. Now coming in, we didn’t exactly know what would happen because their last game they lost in overtime. When a team is coming off a loss like that, you never know what’s going to happen.”
The Jaguars now turn their attention for a Peach Belt road contest at Columbus State on Saturday, Dec. 20. Tip will be at 2 p.m. Both teams are 2-2 in the conference.
AU women lose at Columbus State
The Jaguar women lost at No. 24 Columbus State 70-56 on Wednesday, Dec. 17. Nadiyah Byard led AU (3-2, 6-3) with 19 points. Quinasia Abercrombie added 12 points and Amari Jackson 10.
AU point guard Elyse Autrey was held to just two points before she fouled out.
The Jaguars will play at Belmont Abbey on Saturday, Dec. 20 at 2 p.m.
AU’s Charlie McBeath (5) turned in a double-double in the 97-62 win over Reinhardt at Christenberry Fieldhouse on Columbia County Education Day. At the top of the page, Daniel Daramola goes up for a dunk after he stole the ball near midcourt. (photos by Paula Toole/AU Athletics)
TJ Baker (12) puts up a baseline jumper over Reinhardt’s Derrick Brown. Baker would finish with seven points for the Jaguars. (photo by Paula Toole/AU Athletics)
Elías Pálsson had 14 points in 20 minutes of action as the Jaguars bounced back from a 99-91 overtime loss to Georgia College. (photo by Paula Toole/AU Athletics)
