AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Junior guard Tye Beal paced Augusta State with 13 points off the bench Saturday afternoon as the Jaguars topped King College 56-52 in a non-conference matchup at Christenberry Fieldhouse.
Senior guard George Johnson tallied 11 points and four steals for ASU, which improved to 14-1 on the season. The fifth-ranked Jags extended their home winning streak to 37 games and their non-conference streak to 16 straight in the CFH.
Junior reserve guard Brian Hewitt netted a game-high 16 points for the Tornado, who dropped to 7-11 in their first season as a Division II member. Jason Seymore booked a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Clarence Smith added 10 points off the bench.
Cold shooting plagued both teams, as ASU shot 37.3 percent for the game while KC managed just 35.8 percent from the field. The Jags were outrebounded 39-35 but forced 17 turnovers and only committed four of their own in the second half. For the eighth time in 15 games, the Jags allowed 59 points or less.
After Hewitt's 3-pointer with 4:57 remaining pushed the visitors in front 52-49, ASU held the Tornado scoreless the rest of the way. Junior guard O'Neal Armstrong drained his second 3-pointer of the game to pull the Jags even at 52-all with 3:12 left.
Senior guard Caleb Brown hit 1-of-2 free throws to put ASU in front 53-52 at the 2:02 mark. When KC failed to score on consecutive possessions, Beal canned two free throws with 25 seconds to go for a 55-52 advantage. After a missed 3-point attempt and a turnover by KC, Johnson's free throw with :06 remaining accounted for the final margin.
In a contest that featured 12 ties and 12 lead changes, the Jags moved out to a seven-point lead in the latter stages of the first half. Franck Ndongo's layup gave ASU a 28-21 advantage with 1:10 to go. Andrew Cleland canned a jumper and Seymore added a pair of free throws before Hewitt beat the buzzer with a long trey that punctuated a 7-0 King spurt and tied the game at 28-all at the half.
The Jags welcome 24th-ranked Valdosta State to Christenberry Fieldhouse for a 7:30 p.m., tipoff on Monday, Jan. 17. The Blazers, who advanced to the Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass., last March, knocked ASU from the unbeaten ranks last season with an 81-75 victory in Valdosta on Jan. 16, 2010.
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