AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Augusta State shot 67 percent in the second half Monday night en route to an 89-75 Peach Belt Conference victory over North Georgia in Christenberry Fieldhouse.

With the win, the fifth-ranked Jaguars matched last season's mark for the best start in school history at 11-0 and improved to 3-0 in the PBC. ASU extended its home winning streak to 35 games and its home winning streak in PBC play to 25 games.

Ben Purser, a 6-7 sophomore guard from Perth, Australia, notched a career-best 21 points off the bench and became the fifth different player to lead ASU in scoring in as many games. Fellow sophomore Travis Keels enjoyed a career night of his own, tallying a career-high 18 points. Senior guard George Johnson had 15 points, including three 3-pointers, and senior forward Franck Ndongo tallied 12 points. Junior guard Tye Beal handed out seven assists.

Elijah Smith paced NGCSU (3-7, 0-1 PBC) with 16 points and six rebounds. Carl Taylor and Clarence Tillman each had 13.

The Jags trailed only once at 3-2 less than three minutes into the game. They led by as many as nine in the first half after a Johnson jumper gave ASU a 27-18 advantage at the 6:44 mark. After the Saints pulled within 30-29 with 1:19 left, the Jags closed out the opening stanza with an 8-2 spurt for a 38-31 halftime lead.

The Saints inched to within six at 41-35 just 1:09 into the second half, but got no closer the rest of the way. ASU countered with five straight points for a 46-35 lead and its lead never dipped below eight. The Jags led by as many as 17 on three occasions, the last on a Keels' dunk with 1:17 remaining.

The Jags, who shot 62.2 percent overall and matched their season low with nine turnovers, got a season-high 46 points from their bench.

ASU travels to St. Augustine, Fla., to take on Flagler (7-3, 1-1 in the PBC) on Wednesday, Jan. 5 at 7:30 p.m.