Jags improve to 15-5 overall and 8-3 in the Peach Belt

PEMBROKE, N.C. – The Augusta Jaguars beat the UNC Pembroke Braves for the second time of the 2016 season with a 56-52 road win on Wednesday night in the English E. Jones Center.

After taking care of the Braves (8-10, 3-8 PBC) in a 72-61 win on Jan. 2 in Augusta, the Jags (15-5, 8-3 PBC) prevailed down the stretch in the second half after taking a strong early lead in the first 20 minutes.

Senior Kariel Hutt paced Augusta with 14 points and junior Breonna O'Conner and sophomore Joshlyn Belcher each added 12 points. Senior Camille Gee scored seven with five rebounds and O'Conner added five rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

For the game Augusta posted a 41.2 field-goal percentage and held the Braves to 28.1 percent from field-goal range. The Braves grabbed one more rebound than the Jags (39-to-28), but Augusta scored 20 points off Braves turnovers and put up 26 points in the paint to UNCP's 18.

Augusta won the first half 35-21 and shot 52 percent from the floor while holding the Braves to a 21.1 first-half, field-goal percentage. Augusta had 12 turnovers in the first to UNCP's 10, but the Jags produced 14 points in the paint – led by Hutt's early 10 points.

Camille Gee hit her first three-point attempt from the corner to start the game and Joshlyn Belcher sunk three from beyond the arc in the first half. Belcher had four from deep in the contest.

The second half saw the Braves outscore the Jags 18-to-14 in the third quarter and 13-7 in the fourth. The Jags led by 17 at one point in the first half, but UNCP's Jonissa Monley and Avery Locklear kept them in the hunt in the second half.

Monley recorded her sixth-straight double-double with 18 points and 12 boards, while Locklear scored 17 points. UNCP made it a three-point game under three minutes, but Augusta pushed the lead to a two-possession game in the final minutes and won the game at the free-throw line.

Augusta University Athletics is proud to welcome 500 soldiers from Fort Gordon Military base who will fill the stands of Christenberry Fieldhouse on Saturday, Jan. 30 as Augusta Athletics honors members of the United States Armed Forces with the annual Military Appreciation Day games during the Jaguars basketball doubleheader against Clayton State at 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.

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