AUGUSTA, Ga. – A three here, strong ball movement, an established interior presence gave the GRU Augusta men's basketball team a 31-12 early lead that they turned into a 79-53 victory over Brevard in the final game of the PBC-SAC Challenge on Saturday afternoon in Christenberry Fieldhouse.

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The Jaguars (2-0) started on fire, opening a big lead with a 20-3 run. Keshun Sherrill opened things up with a three pointer, followed by a steal and fast-break jam by Henry McCarthy for the first dunk of the season. Sherrill hit a jumper, McCarthy hit back-to-back shots, then Roman Hill hit before Devonte Thomas joined the fun with a long-range splash. Vlad Cobzaru and Keith Crump added buckets of their own to key the early GRU blowout.

McCarthy notched a career-high 24 points – with 14 in the first half - on 9-of-11 shooting and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe, while Sherrill (18 points, six rebounds, four assists ) and Thomas (14 points ) enjoyed strong days as well. The Jags shot 56.6 percent from the floor, outrebounding the Tornados by 13. Ten players scored for GRU, including the first Jaguar buckets for Marko Cergic, Kelvin Howard, and Tamyrik Fields.

Brevard (0-2) was led by Phil Wallace's 16 points and a 77.8 free-throw percentage for the game.

In the first game in day two of the PBC-SAC Challenge, Clayton State nailed a trey at the regulation buzzer to force overtime against Anderson. The Lakers made their free throws to steal a 78-72 victory. CSU's Kelsey Terry poured in 23 points to lead all scorers.

The Jaguars next host Coastal Georgia on Wednesday, Nov. 19 for a 7:30 p.m. non-conference game in Christenberry Fieldhouse.

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