Box Score HARROGATE, Tenn. – The GRU Augusta Jaguars had their season come to an end on Saturday night in an 84-75 loss to the Mount Olive Trojans in the quarterfinal game of the NCAA Tournament in the B. Frank Turner Arena.
Hosted by Lincoln Memorial in Harrogate, Tenn., the quarterfinal southeast regional game of the NCAA Division II Tournament saw the fifth-seeded Jaguars (23-7) take on No. 9 Mount Olive (29-3) in a game that had eight lead changes and seven tied scores. The Jags were called for 25 fouls, while the Trojans were called for 15 in the game.
Sophomore Keshun Sherrill paced all scorers with 28 points for the Jags – sinking five three pointers in the contest. Senior Devon Wright-Nelson scored 12 points with five rebounds and senior D'Angelo Boyce notched 14 points off the bench.
Vlad Cobzaru, Keith Crump, Sherrill, Devonte Thomas, and Wright-Nelson earned the start for the Jaguars. Sherrill grabbed an opening defensive rebound and drove the floor to connect on his first shot attempt for a three pointer to open the scoring. His second three pointer put GRU up 8-2 and the Jags went into the first media timeout up by six.
Mount Olive's Dontrell Brite nailed two treys in the next few possessions to cut it a three-point game and Tayon Gleaves sank two free throws to tie the game at 17-all. UMO took their first lead on two more free throws, but Sherrill was fouled on a three-pointer and gave the lead back to GRU with a four-point play.
Having the advantage for the majority of the first half, the Jags let UMO get to the free-throw line where they hit both to take a 42-40 lead with under a minute left in the half. With one second remaining, Michael Graham beat the buzzer with a jumper to tie the game at 42 apiece.
Sherrill had 19 first-half points to pace the Jags, while D'Angelo Boyce had 12 off the bench. A 54.5 three-point percentage carried GRU, with Lander shooting 25 percent from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.
The Trojans retook the lead quickly to start the second half on a Jordan McCain layup. The Jags helped cut the six-point lead that UMO jumped to, with a Sherrill trey and two free throws and a jumper from Wright-Nelson to make it 70-69. A 7-0 run put the Trojans back up with a safe lead that they never relinquished.
Under a minute, Henry McCarthy had a tip-in basket and layup, but the Trojans were too much and took an 84-75 final. The Trojans shot 47.3 from the field, while the Jags shot 42.9. GRU outrebounded Mount Olive 37-35, but UMO had five more points on second-chance attempts and six more points off turnovers.
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