AUGUSTA, Ga. -- In a matchup of the Peach Belt Conference's top two defensive teams, Augusta State senior guard George Johnson sparked the Jaguars to a 68-59 victory over No. 18 Georgia Southwestern on Thursday night in Christenberry Fieldhouse.
The win was the seventh straight for the Jags, who extended their home winning streak to 40 games and their Peach Belt Conference home winning streak to 28 in a row. ASU has now win six straight in the series with the Hurricanes.
The victory lifted the Jags to 18-1 on the season and 8-1 in the league, while GSW dropped to 17-2 and 7-2 in the conference. ASU matched the best start in school history through 19 games, originally set during the 1969-70 season.
The Jags also improved to 11-0 at home vs. nationally-ranked opponents under head coach Dip Metress and to 22-8 overall vs. the top-25 in his seven-year tenure.
Johnson booked a game-high 17 points and connected on 5-of-7 attempts from beyond the arc. Sophomore guard Ben Purser was 6-of-8 from the field for 16 points and senior forward Frank Ndongo snagged a team-best six rebounds.
Phillip Brown posted a double-double for GSW with 11 points a game-high 10 rebounds. Trayce Macon paced the squad with 14 points, and Colin Slotter netted 12.
"It was a great win, but I'm glad we played them at home," said ASU head coach Dip Metress. "Both teams made the extra pass all night, but we made the shots. George is a great shooter. This far into the season, you just have to win games. We won a good game."
The lead changed hands nine times in the first half until the Jags built a 27-18 advantage on 46 percent shooting, including 71.4 percent from behind the arc. The 'Canes came back to cut the ASU lead to six with a runner from Bobby Glover that just beat the buzzer at the half.
GSW reclaimed the lead at 11:05 in the second half on a 3-pointer by Evan Mobley. Following an ASU missed shot, Jaguar junior guard O'Neal Armstrong stole the ball and was fouled by Glover. He connected on two free throws to put the Jags up by 46-45 with 10:27 remaining.
Johnson took over, drilling three consecutive 3-pointers and the Jags took a 55-45 lead at the 8:25 mark of the second half. After a GSW free throw, Tye Beal scored on a layup and Purser drained a trey to give ASU its largest lead of the night -- 62-46 -- with 5:35 left.
The Jags shot 52.3 percent for the game, including an impressive 69.2 percent from 3-point range. The 'Canes shot 40.4 percent from the field and connected on 10 3-pointers. ASU remained hot from the free-throw line by hitting 13-of 16 for the game for 81.3 percent.
ASU wraps its three-game homestand on Saturday, Jan. 29 vs. Columbus State at 3:30 p.m., in Christenberry Fieldhouse.
