COLUMBUS, Ga. – Columbus State outscored Augusta State 45-34 in the second half Thursday night to claim an 82-68 Peach Belt Conference victory over the Jaguars in Lumpkin Center.
With the loss, ASU slipped to 11-10 on the season and 6-8 in the PBC. The Cougars moved to 11-12 overall and 6-10 in league play.
Sophomore guard Devonte Thomas knocked down four 3-pointers and tallied a team-high 22 points for the Jags. Junior Ryan Weems posted 17 points and freshman Michael Graham notched a career-high 10 points off the bench. Sophomore Devon Wright-Nelson logged a game-high 11 rebounds.
Rory Miller netted a game-high 23 points off the bench for the Cougars and nine rebounds. BJ Battle booked 18 points off the bench, while Nick Turner added 11 and Jermaine Morgan pitched in 10.
CSU shot 49.2 percent from the field, including 55.2 percent in the second half, and outrebounded the Jags, 41-25. The Cougars connected on 9-of-22 3-point attempts (40.9 percent) while ASU hit just 6-of-24 tries (25.0 percent) from long range.
Columbus sprinted out to a 10-0 lead in the first 2:57 of the contest before the Jags stemmed the tide with a 3-pointer from Thomas. The Jags countered with a 19-4 run and grabbed their first lead on consecutive treys from Thomas and Ryan Weems at the 11:02 mark.
A 3-point play from Thomas gave ASU a 22-16 advantage before a dunk from Turner capped a 7-0 Cougar spurt and put the hosts back in front. The Jags grabbed their last lead on a D'Angelo Boyce bucket with 5:24 left in the half and Columbus led 37-34 at the break.
ASU trailed by just six at 63-57 following a Travis Keels' layup with 7:07 remaining in the contest. CSU then ripped off a 19-3 run that Jahmad Saleem capped with a 3-point play and the Cougars led by as much as 22 (82-60) with 2:21 to play.
The Jags wrap up their three-game road trip on Saturday, Feb. 16 at Georgia Southwestern. The contest is slated for a 3:30 p.m. tipoff at the Storm Dome in Americus, Ga.