SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Staring at its largest halftime deficit of the season, Augusta State staged a massive second-half comeback Wednesday afternoon in front of a crowd of 3,908 at the MassMutual Center, rallying past Christian Brothers for a 70-62 victory in the national quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.

The fourth-ranked Jaguars, who trailed 32-18 at the break, outscored the No. 15 Buccaneers 52-30 over the game's final 20 minutes and shot 62.5 percent. ASU advances to the Final Four where the Jags will face Cal Poly Pomona. The unranked Broncos (24-7) were a 79-74 winner over Southwest Minnesota State in the second national quarterfinal Wednesday afternoon.

"I told the guys (at the half) to just play," said ASU head coach Dip Metress. "In the first half, we were overcoached, which is my fault, and we came out tight. In the second half, I told them to just attack on offense and defense. I am fortunate to have guys who can come off the bench and play big."

With the victory, ASU improved to 30-4 on the year, posting the first 30-win season in school history. The victory extended the Jaguar winning streak to 16 straight and lifted ASU to a 19-7 record vs. nationally-ranked foes under Metress, including 7-3 this season. The Jags are now 10-2 under Metress in the NCAA Tournament.

ASU started the second half attacking the basket, with junior forward Fred Brathwaite scoring the first six points of the half as the Jags cut their 14-point deficit to 10 in less than two minutes. Brathwaite's alley-oop dunk from Daniel Dixon capped a 6-2 opening run, part of a larger 12-6 run that cut the lead to six with 15:29 to go.

"I just reflected on what I did in the first half and what I needed to do in the second," said Brathwaite, a Peach Belt Conference all-conference, third-team selection. "I knew once we tied the game and got that (one-point) lead, we would run with it."

Sophomore guard Caleb Brown hit a layup and later a 3-pointer, finishing the game with 12 points, all in the second half. Brown was one of several Jaguars to come off the bench and contribute quality minutes as Dixon added eight and senior center Jason Killeen and freshman guard Tye Beal played key defensive minutes.

The Jags tied the game on a Ben Madgen free throw with 8:36 to play, then took their first lead of the second half on their next possession on a three-point play by Brathwaite, one of four three-point plays the Jags converted in the second half. CBU went back up on a layup from Reggie Peyton, but ASU answered with a Garret Siler layup and a baseline jumper from senior point guard Steve Smith to begin a 25-16 run that lasted the rest of the game.

"I was surprised by how calm we were at halftime," said Madgen. "We've been in this situation way too many times. It just wasn't our half in the first 20, but we started to stick together in the second and that helped us."

The first half belonged to Christian Brothers. The Bucs trailed 5-4 with 14:47 to play when they went on a 17-4 run to open up a 12-point lead. Consensus All-American Nick Kohs led the charge for CBU, scoring twice and dishing out two assists on the run.

CBU extended its advantage to 14 with 3:32 to go in the first on a pair of Reggie Peyton free throws and got back-to-back layups from Zack Warner to lead by 14 at the break. The Bucs shot 44.9 percent from the field in the first and hit four 3- pointers while limiting ASU to 1-for-7 shooting from long range and 36 percent shooting overall.

"The first half was textbook for us," said Christian Brothers head coach Mike Nienaber. "It couldn't have gone any better. We played as good as we could. But in the second we gave up a lot of rebounds. Not only did they score, they got a lot of 'and one' opportunities and we started breaking down defensively."

"They shut off the baseline in the second," said Kohs. "They made me move towards the middle but they had a lot of people in the lane. In the first half, I would kick it out and we'd nail the three, but the shots just weren't falling in the second." The 14-point halftime deficit overcome is the second-largest in Elite Eight history. Southern Indiana trailed by 18 to UC Riverside in the 1995 championship game and came back to win.

Madgen led the Jags with 16 points and six rebounds, eight of those points coming from the free throw line. As a team, ASU hit 10 of 12 free throws in the final 1:54 as CBU was forced to foul.

Brathwaite added 15, hitting all five of his free-throw attempts, while Brown added 12. The ASU bench outscored the Bucs' reserves 23-11. Senior center Garret Siler finished with nine points and five rebounds, snapping a streak of 21 straight double-figures outings, while Dixon added eight and Smith seven.

Peyton led the Pirates with 20 points while Kohs added 15. Kyle Couvion scored five points and led the team with five rebounds. ASU held a 31-17 rebounding advantage for the game, and out-boarded the Bucs 18-5 in the second half.