AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Peach Belt Conference office released the brackets late Saturday for next weekend's tournament championships in Columbus, Ga., on the campus of Columbus State.
The Lady Jaguars, in their third season under head coach Nate Teymer, closed the regular season Saturday afternoon with a 71-68 overtime victory at Flagler. ASU won the PBC's East Division title with a 14-5 league record and a 21-5 overall mark. The Lady Jags' 21 victories matched the program's record for the most wins in a regular season, while their 14 conference wins were more than the previous four seasons combined (12).
The Lady Jags drew a quarterfinal matchup with North Georgia on Thursday, March 7 at 1:00 p.m. ASU claimed the one regular-season meeting 54-52 on Jan. 19 at Memorial Hall Gymnasium in Dahlonega, Ga. In that contest, Taylor Ayers (14) and Eryka Menzies (10) combined for 24 points off the bench. The Lady Jags shot just 37 percent for the game, but forced 23 Saints' turnovers and Brittany White snagged seven steals.
The Jaguar men's squad registered a 14-12 record during the 2012-13 regular season and will enter the conference tournament as the PBC East Division's No. 4 seed. ASU will face Montevallo, the West Division's No. 1 seed, in the tourney quarterfinals on Friday, March 8 at 7:00 p.m. The contest will be a rematch of last season's PBC Tournament semifinal matchup, which the Falcons claimed 63-59 and ended the Jags' season at 17-11. In fact, next weekend's meeting with Montevallo will mark the fourth straight year the Jags and Falcons have met in the PBC Championships.
In their one regular-season meeting this season, ASU edged Montevallo on Dec. 17, 2012 in Augusta. Jaguar sophomore Devon Wright-Nelson posted his first of three double-doubles this season with 21 points and 12 rebounds against the Falcons. D'Angelo Boyce posted 14 points and five assists and Ryan Weems added 11 points. The teams combined for 51 fouls and 65 free-throw attempts.
The 2013 PBC Championships features four women's quarterfinals on Thursday, March 7, followed by four men's quarterfinals on Friday, March 8. On Saturday's March 9, two women's semifinals precede two men's semifinals. The women's title game on Sunday, March 10 is slated for a 2:00 p.m., tipoff, while the men's championship contest is scheduled to get underway at 4:30 p.m.
Montevallo's men's squad and the USC Aiken Lady Pacers are the defending tournament champions. The Falcons rode the momentum of their PBC tourney title all the way at an appearance in the NCAA Tournament championship game, while the Lady Pacers hosted the NCAA Southeast Regional before falling in the round of 32 to Lander.
For complete information about the 2013 PBC Championships, including live webcasts, live stats, live press conferences and halftime interviews as well as directions and hotel information, visit www.peachbeltconference.org/information/13bbtournament/index.
2013 Peach Belt Conference Basketball Championships
Hosted by Columbus State University
Frank G. Lumpkin Center – Columbus, Ga.
Thursday, March 7 - Sunday, March 10
Women's Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 7 (View Bracket)
West #4 North Georgia vs. EAST #1 AUGUSTA STATE, 1:00 p.m.
East #3 Flagler vs. West #2 Montevallo, 3:00 p.m.
West #1 Clayton State vs. East #4 Armstrong, 5:00 p.m.
East #2 USC Aiken at West #3 Columbus State, 7:00 p.m.
Men's Quarterfinals – Friday, March 8 (View Bracket)
West #4 Clayton State vs. East #1 USC Aiken, 1:00 p.m.
East #3 Armstrong vs. West #2 North Georgia, 3:00 p.m.
West #3 Georgia Southwestern vs. East #2 UNC Pembroke, 5:00 p.m.
EAST #4 AUGUSTA STATE vs. West #1 Montevallo, 7:00 p.m.