AUGUSTA, Ga. – After trailing the entire game, GRU Augusta used a 10-0 run to tie it up with eight minutes to go, but a late-game cold stretch gave visiting Young Harris enough breathing room for an 83-76 victory in the first round of the Peach Belt Conference tournament.

It appeared that a fast-paced first half was taking its toll on the Mountain Lions (12-13), as a 12-point halftime lead started to slip away in the first 10 minutes of the second period. Keshun Sherrill nailed back-to-back-to-back unassisted jumpers to pull the Jags within eight, and then the rest of the GRU (23-5) offense began to wake up.

First, D'Angelo Boyce nailed a lay-up in traffic off a bounce pass from Devonte Thomas. Henry McCarthy hit his following turnaround in the lane, then Tamyrik Fields swished a baseline jumper from the left side. After a media timeout, Sherrill used bursts of speed to find two open jumpers near the free throw line, followed by Boyce finding Thomas all alone in the right corner for an open three – and a 60-60 tie game with 9:51 left to play.

The squads traded shots, with two Sherrill free throws knotting things at 66 apiece with 4:08 remaining. But the Jaguar offense stalled in the closing stretch, failing to hit a field goal for nearly six minutes, and Young Harris hit their free throws to seal the game.

The Lions blitzed early, using a helter-skelter pace of play to open a 16-3 lead after the first five minutes of play before a Thomas three stopped the bleeding. GRU cut the lead to four on a steal by Henry McCarthy leading to another Thomas 3 in the corner, but the Lions continued the offensive output, eventually opening a 30-15 lead on a corner three by C.J. Wilson.

The teams traded late first-half runs, with Young Harris taking a 44-32 halftime margin.

The Jaguars shot 44.4% from the field, but 2-of-14 from behind the arc. Thomas paced the way with 23 points, and Sherrill added 18. McCarthy tacked on 14 with 10 boards for the double-double.

Three Lions combined to shoot 23-of-42 for 69 points: Wilson (27 points), Kevin Altidor (21), and Isaiah Johnson (21). Young Harris shot 51% from the field, including 18-of-30 in the first half.

The Jags must now wait for the results of the conference tournaments and see if they make it into the NCAA Tournament field. GRU was ranked fifth in the last edition of the Southeast Regional poll.

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