Spartanburg, SC – USC Spartanburg hosted Augusta State in the G.B. Hodge Center in a battle for first place in the North Division of the Peach Belt Conference. The Jaguars, winners of the division the last four years, used key three-point shooting in the second half to record a 68-63 victory over the Rifles to stay atop the division.
Augusta State (13-8, 9-4) closed out the first half with a 6-2 run to take a five-point lead, 33-28, at halftime, then took control early in the second half to dictate the pace of the game. The Jaguars hit 5-of-9 three-pointers and 8-of-10 free throws in the first half. USCS (13-7, 7-5), however, used gritty defense to stay in the game in the first half.
Augusta State maintained the lead around five points for the first 10 minutes of the second half, then used a 5-0 run from the 9:05 mark to the 8:04 mark to open a 10 point lead, 52-42. With the lead at 12 points, 65-53, with 2:18 to play, USCS made a last-ditch effort to get back into the game.
The Rifles used an 8-0 run, capped off by a three-pointer by Curtis Blair and a jumper by Petros Tsampas, to cut the Jaguar lead to four points, 65-61, with 17 seconds to play. After two free throws by Eric Murrell cut the lead to three points with seven seconds to play, Marcus Johnson made two free throws to seal the win for the Jaguars.
Augusta State hit 63.6 percent of its three-pointers in the second half and finished the game shooting 60 percent from behind the arc to take the win.
David Siebrands and Chris Harriman each scored 14 points to lead Augusta State. Dean Brebner, who sank two three-pointers midway through the second half to give the Jaguars a double-digit lead, finished with nine points off the bench.
Tsampas led USCS with 19 points, two blocked shots, and two steals. Blair added 12 points and three steals. C.J. Paul had a solid nine points and six assists. Kevin Harrington was held to just three points on 3-of-6 shooting from the free throw line. He only took two shots as the Jaguar defense keyed on him throughout the night.
Official Basketball Box Score
Augusta State vs USC Spartanburg
02-08-03 4:30 pm at Spartanburg, SC - G.B. Hodge
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VISITORS: Augusta State 13-8, 9-4
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
35 Dunham, Marty....... f 2-6 0-0 2-2 1 1 2 1 6 0 3 0 1 23
42 Siebrands, David.... c 4-7 2-2 4-6 0 0 0 4 14 4 4 0 0 29
02 Wilkerson, Jermale.. g 3-9 2-5 0-0 0 2 2 0 8 4 1 0 0 32
22 Broddie, Darrick.... g 1-3 0-0 3-5 1 4 5 2 5 1 1 0 1 21
24 Harriman, Chris..... g 4-6 4-6 2-3 1 2 3 1 14 4 0 0 1 32
04 Mills, Jason........ 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 1 5
05 Brebner, Dean....... 3-6 3-5 0-0 0 0 0 1 9 0 0 1 0 18
20 Butler, Ben......... 1-2 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 3 0 1 0 0 10
21 Grant, Norris....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
23 Jones, Lee.......... 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 2
31 Curran, Patrick..... 0-2 0-0 0-2 1 2 3 3 0 0 1 0 0 12
33 Johnson, Marcus..... 1-2 0-0 3-4 1 7 8 3 5 0 1 1 0 15
TEAM................ 3 2 5
Totals.............. 21-45 12-20 14-22 8 20 28 18 68 14 12 2 4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-23 43.5% 2nd Half: 11-22 50.0% Game: 46.7% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-9 55.6% 2nd Half: 7-11 63.6% Game: 60.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 8-10 80.0% 2nd Half: 6-12 50.0% Game: 63.6% 4
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HOME TEAM: USC Spartanburg 13-7, 7-5
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
30 Sanders, Brian...... f 2-4 0-0 1-2 0 1 1 5 5 0 0 0 1 12
40 Harrington, Kevin... f 0-2 0-1 3-6 0 3 3 1 3 2 0 2 1 34
45 Tsampas, Petros..... c 8-10 0-0 3-4 0 3 3 2 19 3 1 2 2 31
12 Paul, C.J........... g 3-10 1-6 2-2 1 2 3 1 9 6 3 0 2 33
33 Blair, Curtis....... g 5-6 2-3 0-0 0 3 3 4 12 1 2 0 3 30
14 Murrell, Eric....... 2-5 2-3 2-2 1 5 6 0 8 1 3 0 1 21
20 Fluker, Troy........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 7
44 Diebel, Dave........ 1-3 0-0 3-6 2 2 4 2 5 2 1 0 0 24
54 O'Neal, Charlie..... 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 3 2 0 1 0 0 8
TEAM................ 1
Totals.............. 22-42 5-13 14-22 4 20 24 19 63 16 13 4 10 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-21 52.4% 2nd Half: 11-21 52.4% Game: 52.4% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-5 20.0% 2nd Half: 4-8 50.0% Game: 38.5% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 5-8 62.5% 2nd Half: 9-14 64.3% Game: 63.6% 4
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Officials: Shea, Hartz, Barnes
Technical fouls: Augusta State-None. USC Spartanburg-None.
Attendance: 683
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Augusta State................. 33 35 - 68
USC Spartanburg............... 28 35 - 63