Georgia College teammates Marcus Langston (24), Quinton Mathews (5) struggle for possession as Augusta's Patrick Woodward jumps in.Steve Shelton/Staff

Colonials romp over Augusta

Web posted January 3, 1997

 Mens' game

By Andy Johnston
Staff Writer

Ten games into the season, Lowell Barnhart is having some doubts.

And you get the feeling he wasn't just venting frustration following Georgia College & State University's 85-77 victory over his Augusta State Lady Jaguars on Thursday night.

``I wonder how bad they want to be the top team in the conference,'' Barnhart said. ``I'm still very uncertain what kind of team the Lady Jaguars are right now. There were five, six or seven minutes left and nobody wanted the basketball. I wonder what their attitude is about the game.''

Barnhart admitted part of the on-court problems - like 28 turnovers and 26 personal fouls - stemmed from the fact that Augusta State hadn't played in 14 days. The layoff, however, didn't affect two players being late for the shoot-around for a game against the Lady Colonials, the Peach Belt Athletic Conference's defending champions.

The Lady Jaguars (8-2, 2-2 in the PBAC) have lost two of their past three games after starting the season 7-0. It was their first loss in five games at the PE/Athletic Complex.

``We're soul-searching right now,'' said senior Lawanna Monday, who scored 24 points, but remained in foul trouble and fouled out after playing only 22 minutes. ``We believe we can play with anybody. We're still looking for some answers down the stretch in games. That's when we have a lot of turnovers and don't play smart. We've got to be able to play the whole game.''

The game was tied at 75 with 3:32 remaining, but the Lady Jaguars scored only once in their next seven possessions as Georgia College (8-1, 1-0) pulled away.

A knee injury forced junior guard Kourtney Saunders to the bench with 2:10 remaining and Monday fouled out with 39 seconds left, leaving the Lady Jaguars in a hole without two of their top offensive threats.

Center Claire Servy, the team's third-leading scorer, was also in foul trouble and played only eight minutes. She finished with four points and two rebounds.

``We've got to stop fouling people and start playing harder,'' Monday said. ``We're upset after this. We've just got to settle down and play well. I think we'll be OK.''

GEORGIA COLLEGE (85)-Davis 5-9 7-8 17, Riley 1-8 3-4 5, Tamarra Brown 10-18 4-4 24, Walker 4-7 10-10 20, Wilson 5-14 5-6 15, Passmore 0-0 0-0 0, Roberts 1-6 0-0 2, Dunn 1-1 0-0 2, Howze 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-63 29-32 85.

AUGUSTA STATE (77)-Bromley 3-10 4-5 11, Pankey 0-0 0-0 0, Benton 3-6 2-2 8, Monday 8-11 7-12 24, Miller 2-4 0-0 4, Coursey 0-0 0-0 0, Haygood 3-6 5-6 12, Saunders 2-6 0-0 4, Cox 3-5 2-4 5, Thomas 1-3 0-0 2, Servy 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 27-54 20-29 77.

Halftime-Augusta State 44, Ga. College 39.

3-point goals-Ga. College 2-4 (Walker 2-2, Davis 0-1, Wilson 0-1), ASU 3-5 (Bromley 1-2, Monday 1-1, Haygood 1-2). Fouled out-Monday. Rebounds-Ga. College 37 (Wilson 9), ASU 33 (Benton 7); Assists-Ga. College 13 (Davis 4), ASU (Bromley, Monday, Saunders, Cox 3). Turnovers-Ga. College 22, ASU 28. Total fouls-Ga. College 21, ASU 26.

Georgia College & State 85
Augusta State 57

Georgia College & State University's Tony Edmondson scored 20 points and had seven rebounds to lead the Colonials to an 85-57 victory over the Jaguars.

Augusta State trailed only 33-29 at halftime, but made only one 3-pointer in the second half while the Colonials (7-2, 1-0) shot 61.3 percent. For the game, Georgia College shot 54.1 percent.

The Jaguars had a two-game winning streak snapped and fell to 5-4 and 2-2.

``We didn't make any shots and they killed us on the boards,'' Augusta State coach Clint Bryant said. ``We're so young, we got impatient and started forcing things. They were men. They were a lot stronger than us.''

Oliver Ottley (Richmond Academy), one of two freshmen in the Jaguars' starting lineup, scored 21 points and had six rebounds. Augusta State also missed starting senior guard Frank Burau, who broke a bone in his left foot in a pickup game and will be out at least two more games.

Bryant also had a sophomore in the starting lineup and played three other freshmen and another sophomore.

``We've still got 14 more league games to go,'' Bryant said. ``I'm disappointed, but I'm not discouraged. This is still early in the year. We're still learning. I can't be more pleased with the effort. Sure, I'd like to be 9-0 right now, but I'm happy with the guys. We're young, we just can't get down.''

Edmondson keyed the deciding run eight minutes into the second half. He scored eight straight points for Georgia College, as the Colonials built their lead to 50-38 with 12:46 remaining in the game.

Five minutes later, Tim Jones scored eight straight points as they pushed their lead to 20.

Former Washington County two-sport star George Askew, who transferred to Georgia College from East Tennessee, had 11 points and five rebounds.

GEORGIA COLLEGE (85) -Matthews 4-6 0-0 8, Langston 4-9 4-4 13, Edmondson 8-10 2-3 18, Askew 5-9 0-0 11, Givens 1-2 1-2 3, Darden 1-1 0-1 2, Liberty 0-1 0-0 0, Steensland 0-5 3-4 3, Fullwood 3-6 0-0 6, Jones 4-6 4-6 12, Nelson 1-3 0-0 2. Grant 1-1 2-2 4, McKay 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 33-61 17-22 85.

AUGUSTA STATE (57) -Johnson 0-2 0-0 0, Woodward 3-15 2-2 11, Clernon 1-4 0-0 2, Ottley 7-18 7-8 21, Calvin 2-4 2-3 6, Brunson 3-9 1-2 8, Baker 3-9 1-1 7, Killips 0-1 0-0 0, Rosier 1-1 0-0 2, Frazier 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-63 13-19 57.

Halftime - Ga. College 33, Augusta State 29.

3-point goals - Ga. College 2-9 (Askew 1-3, Langston 1-2, Steensland 0-3, Liberty 0-1), ASU 4-21 (Woodward 3-9, Brunson 1-4, Ottley 0-4, Clernon 0-2, Baker 0-1, Killips 0-1. Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Ga. College 44 (Edmondson 7), ASU 30 (Clernon 7). Assists-Ga. College 20 (Matthews 7), ASU 10 (Johnson 4). Turnovers-Ga. College 18, ASU 18. Total fouls-Ga. College 18, ASU 17. A-465.