Augusta, GA – The Augusta University Men's Basketball team cruised to an 83-58 win over the North Georgia Nighthawks Wednesday night at Christenberry Fieldhouse. The Jags improve to 11-6 overall and 6-3 in Peach Belt Conference play. The Nighthawks fall to 8-9 overall and are now 3-6 in the Peach Belt Conference.
The first half saw the Jags get out to early lead, which led to a North Georgia timeout. Augusta was able to build on their lead and increase it to double digits. The Nighthawks were able to cut it to a single digit lead and eventually tied things up.
As the half came to a close, both teams went back and forth. Augusta took a 34-26 lead into halftime despite North Georgia's sudden offensive attacks.
The Jags shot 50% from the field in the first half with Rafael Monteiro dropping 11 points on five-of-10 shooting, including one three-pointer. He also added 5 rebounds at the half. Tyshaun Crawford added 10 points of his own going four-of-six shooting.
The Jags came out in the second half and dominated the Nighthawks as they outscored them 49-32. Once the Jags increased their lead to double digits they never looked back. The game never seemed to be in doubt throughout the second half as the Jags got in a rhythm on offense and played stifling defense.
Late in the second half, Anthony Torelli got the crowd out of their seats as he threw down a dunk with authority, a fitting conclusion to a dominant performance.
Monteiro led the Jags with 24 points on 10 of 16 shooting and added 10 rebounds of his own. Crawford was second on the team with 14 points on five-of-eight shooting, and went four-of-five from the free throw line. The Jaguars finished the game 34-of-61 (55.7%) from the field and went seven-of-15 (46.7%) from three.
The Jaguars travel to Milledgeville, GA as they take on Georgia College on Saturday, January 25 at 3:30 p.m.