AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Augusta State rallied from an eight-point deficit in the final 3:50 to pull out a 66-64 Homecoming and Senior Day victory over Francis Marion Saturday afternoon in Christenberry Fieldhouse. With the victory, the Jaguars clinched the Peach Belt Conference regular-season championship, their fourth league title in the last five seasons.
With the win, the No. 11 Jaguars improved their record to 24-3 for the season and 14-3 in the PBC. The loss dropped Francis Marion to 14-10 and 7-9 in the league. With the victory, ASU has now won 45 straight at home and 33 straight at home in the PBC. The win marked ASU's 13th straight victory over the Patriots.
The Jags were led by senior guard George Johnson who booked a game-high 23 points, including six 3-point buckets. Junior point guard O'Neal Armstrong notched 16 points, grabbed six rebounds, and handed out 6 assists. Sophomore forward Travis Keels contributed 10 points, five rebounds, and two blocks. Senior forward Howard Brown set a career high with 13 rebounds to lead all players. He also scored seven points.
"I am happy to have the win for our seniors, especially on our home floor," ASU head coach Dip Metress said. "It was a great job for our four seniors. Franck and George have never lost here. It wasn't pretty. We had some guys who did not play well. We missed too many free throws. But our guys keep digging away."
The Patriots had three players in double figures. Dominique Coleman paced the squad with 16 points, Bryant Julious netted 13 points, handed out six assists and grabbed four steals, and Simel Boyd booked 11 points.
ASU led 36-28 at the half and shot 46.4 percent for the period. The Patriots battled back in the second half, taking the lead at 7:21 on a 3-point bucket by Dominique Coleman, 49-48. The Patriots built an eight-point advantage over the next two minutes capped by a 3-point basket by Bryant Julious at the 5:25 mark for a 58-50 advantage.
The Jags countered when Armstrong found Johnson for his final 3-pointer with 3:28 left to pull ASU within five at 61-56. FMU missed a shot on their subsequent possession and Ndongo scored his first field goal of the game with a jumper at 2:41 to pull within three, 61-58.
Armstrong stole the ball from the Patriots' Coleman at the 2:22 mark and his fastbreak basket pulled the Jags within one, 61-60. Brown grabbed his 12th rebound on a miss by FMU's Julious and Armstrong was fouled. Armstrong tied the game at 61-all by hitting 1-of-2 at the charity stripe. The Patriots' Liki Turner connected on a 3-pointer to regain the lead with 1:10 left. ASU answered on a layup by Brown from an assist by Armstrong, pulling within one 64-63 with 55 seconds left.\
The Jaguars scored the rest of their points from the line, hitting on 3-of- 6 from the charity stripe, with Armstrong providing a two-point cushion with 24 seconds remaining. FMU's Gary game-tying attempt was off the mark with three seconds left, and Johnson grabbed the rebound as the clock expired.
ASU closes out its regular-season schedule on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 3:30 p.m., against Lander at Finis Horne Arena in Greenwood, S.C.
