By Miguelangelo Hernandez
Staff Writer - Augusta Chronicle
For one half, Augusta State played solid, fundamental basketball.
Fortunately for the Jaguars, they made that half count.
Behind a 25-4 run during the last nine minutes of the first half,
the Jaguars took a 23-point lead over Savannah State into the break
and cruised to an 87-67 win Saturday at the ASU Athletic
Complex.
``We played a strong first half,'' said Jaguars coach Gary Tuell,
whose team improved to 5-2. ``The second half wasn't so great. We
quit playing smart, and Savannah State is a scrappy team that
didn't give up. But, its a `W' and we won by 20.''
Augusta State did no wrong in the first half. The Jaguars shot 48
percent from the field while holding the Tigers to 7-for-23
shooting.
T.J. Ott recorded a double-double by halftime, scoring 12 points
and pulling down 10 rebounds. Ott finished with 16 points and 14
rebounds.
``He had a good night on the boards,'' Tuell said. ``I saw him when
he was in high school when he was scoring 30 and 40 points and he
was crashing the boards then. I'm just sorry it took him two years
to get motivated.''
Festus Hawkins, the Jaguars' 6-foot-11 senior center, finished with
a game-high 26 points while pulling down 12 rebounds.
In contrast to the first half, the teams switched identities as
Savannah State hit 8 of 10 3-pointers en route to 63 percent
shooting performance in the second half. Augusta State shot only 40
percent, but its 20-plus point lead never was challenged.
Battling to stay in the game, Savannah State's Alvin Payton and
Toyian Williams led the second-half march, as the two finished
7-for-11 in 3s. Williams had 23 points, and Payton had 18.
``They are a streaky shooting team,'' Tuell said. ``Payton is
really good and so is Williams. As a team, they have some good
shooters.''
The Tigers started their streaky shooting two minutes in the second
half, as Williams hit two 3s while Williams and Maurice Bell added
jumpers to pull Savannah State to within 17 at 48-31.
Hawkins quickly answered the Tigers' challenge with two layups in
less than a minute. Marcus Gradney's 3-pointer at 13:26 restored
the Jaguars 25-point lead, 56-31.
The game was a physical battle, as the teams combined for 46 fouls
and 55 free throws. The Jaguars, behind Hawkins and Ott, outrebound
Savannah State 47-29 .