AUGUSTA, Ga. – Augusta State junior Ryan Weems drove through traffic in the paint for a layup off the glass to give the Jaguars a 70-68 overtime Peach Belt Conference win Thursday night in Christenberry Fieldhouse.
Weems took the ball with ten seconds left, surveyed the floor, blew by his defender, and skied over three Laker defenders for the bucket. A last-second heave by CSU found a Laker player in the paint, but two rushed shots couldn't find the bottom of the net.
ASU (11-8 overall, 6-6 PBC) started fast, but the Lakers (10-11, 6-8) chipped their way back with hot shooting in the second half – hitting 54.5 percent from the floor, 4-of-10 from downtown, and 6-of-6 from the line – to force overtime.
Weems finished with a career-high 32 points to go with his eight rebounds and three steals. Sophomore D'Angelo Boyce also notched career highs in points (17) and assists (14), while adding seven rebounds. Travis Keels had 11 points and a career-high seven blocks to anchor both sides of the floor.
CSU scored first in overtime on a layup by junior Omari Murray, but Weems answered with a reverse layup on the other end to restore the tie. Weems canned a trey to put the Jags back up by 67-65, but a three-point play by freshman Sirdarius Henry knotted the game again with 35 seconds left. ASU took possession of the ball and Weems carried the rock to the hole to score the layup with less than four seconds on the clock, giving the Jags a 70-68 victory.
Murray and Henry each paced the Lakers with 12 points, as eight different CSU players scored at least five points.
The game saw 11 lead changes, with ASU shooting 43 percent (25-of-58) in the game and CSU shooting 42 percent (24-of-57). The Lakers outrebounded the Jags 39-33, but ASU's 32 points in the paint were too much.
The Jags will travel to Young Harris, Ga., on Saturday, Feb. 9 for each team's first meeting in program history at 3:30 p.m. in YHC Basketball Arena.