As Fred Brathwaite broke free for a late slam dunk Tuesday night, Augusta State coach Dip Metress raised his fists in celebration.
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In their final game at Christenberry Fieldhouse, Brathwaite and his four fellow seniors came through with one clutch play after another in the final eight minutes to lift No. 4 Augusta State to a 79-71 win over Montevallo in the Southeast Regional championship game.
All-American guard Ben Madgen scored a game-high 28 points, while Brathwaite added 25 to help the Jaguars advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the third consecutive year.
"We have some unfinished business," Madgen said. "We've been up there twice, and it was a lot of fun playing in that national championship game. We want to win it all, but we're just going to take it one game at a time."
"I'm just glad they had a chance to win their last home game on their home floor," Metress said. "I say we petition the NCAA and move Springfield to here."
Madgen and Daniel Dixon finished their home careers with a 57-4 record and a 31-game winning streak at Christenberry Fieldhouse. Brathwaite and Greg Hire went 32-1 in two years in Augusta. In his one season, Alex Smith went 18-0 at home, marking the first time Augusta State has finished its home slate with a perfect record.
Before he left his apartment earlier in the day, Dixon read an e-mail from former Jaguars All-American center Garret Siler. From China, Siler sent four words: "Don't let up now."
"I just kind of took those words of encouragement and tried to stay focused," Dixon said. "It means a lot to us seniors; we did not want to lose this last game at home."
Smith said: "This is just an absolute blessing. I'm really glad to be a part of this team."
Madgen, who was named to the all- tournament team, scored 10 points in the final eight minutes. Dixon, who scored seven points and added nine assists, drained two 3-pointers in the final four minutes. Hire and Smith helped clog up the middle and prevent Montevallo from getting to the bucket for easy layups down the stretch.
In the first half, Madgen was fouled twice on a pair of 3-point attempts. With Montevallo walking off the floor at the halftime buzzer, Madgen calmly drained all three foul attempts and pumped his fist as he jogged to the locker room. Augusta State led by 11.
The Jaguars built their lead to 14 early in the second half when the Falcons (25-8) came charging back. Mark Plaza, who scored 20 points, fueled a 10-0 run with seven consecutive points. With 8:22 remaining, Montevallo trimmed its deficit to 54-51.
"It's very difficult to have a lead, have them cut it and keep your composure," Metress said. "You do that with seniors."
Madgen, who shot 14 for 14 from the foul line, responded with four free throws in a row and a 12-foot jumper. Later, Plaza scored a layup off a Dixon turnover -- Augusta State's sixth in an eight-minute stretch -- to pull the Falcons within 60-58.
Dixon, who missed his first four shots, responded with a 3-pointer from the left wing, letting out a sigh of relief afterward.
"I was waiting for Daniel to hit it, an incredible shot," Hire said. "You just have confidence in the group you have on the floor."
Little, who led Montevallo with 23 points, canned a 17-foot shot to again pull Montevallo within three. But Brathwaite, the Most Outstanding Player of the regional, grabbed an offensive rebound off his own miss and put it back.
"I got a little down on myself, I had three turnovers and my teammates told me to keep playing hard and just stick with it," said Brathwaite, who reached the 1,000-point career milestone after an 11 for 13 shooting effort.
"I told myself I was not going to let us lose."
Augusta State finally pulled free with 2:02 remaining after a Plaza turnover. Madgen missed a fast-break layup, but Brathwaite grabbed the ball in mid-air and threw down a two-handed dunk. The crowd of 2,131 fans went berserk as the Jaguars extended their lead to 67-60.
With seven seconds left in the game, Dixon threw a home-run pass to Brathwaite, who drove in for a breakaway dunk. Augusta State's Blue Crew began chanting "Mass-a-chu-setts."
Augusta State avenged an 81-77 to Montevallo in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament 10 days earlier in Aiken. The difference came at the free-throw line -- the Jaguars shot 22 of 29; Montevallo shot 7 for 11.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Fred Brathwaite . The Augusta State senior forward shot 11 for 13 from the floor for 25 points, including six in the final three minutes.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Brathwaite's putback dunk of Ben Madgen 's layup staked the Jaguars to a 67-60 lead with 2:02 remaining.
NEXT: Augusta State (29-3) vs. Bentley (25-6) in the Division II Elite Eight, March 24 in Springfield, Mass.
What a great year for the Jags. Good luck at the Elite Eight. We live in Savannah Ga and watched every game and also attended games in Augusta because are daughter is a cheerleader for ASU.
The guys look real comfortable right now. That's the blessing of having five senior starters. They're really seizing the moment and don't look like they're playing tight or burdened in any way. I don't want to jinx anything, but if we can stay this loose up in Springfield, the Jags have a great chance to bring us home a title.
The University of Montevallo men’s basketball team (25-8) ended its postseason run with a 79-71 loss in the Sweet Sixteen to Augusta State University (29-3). The Falcons gave the Jaguars everything they could handle but a 22-7 advantage on the free throw line gave the Jags an eight-point win. The Falcons were led by All-Tournament performers Freddy Little (Raleigh, N.C./Bunn) and Mark Plaza (San Diego, Calif./Chula Vista) who combined for 43 of the Falcons 71 points. Little had 23 points while hitting five three-pointers. Plaza had 20 points and seven assists.
Senior Gerald January (Macon, Ga./Westside) had nine points and six rebounds while junior Cecil Coleman (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Bay Tech) had eight points and four rebounds.
The Falcons shot 58.3 percent from the field including 65.4 percent in the second half. ASU shot 57.8 percent from the field just behind the Falcons. UM had more field goals than the Jaguars but the difference came at the free throw line where the Jags were awarded 29 attempts compared to the Falcons 11. Senior Ben Madgen took 14 free throws which was three more than the entire Falcons squad.
ASU hit eight of its first 13 shots from the field to open the game. A Travis Keels’ layup put the Jaguars up 21-12 with 11:00 to play. The Tournaments Most Outstanding Player, Fred Brathwaite then hit a pair of free throws, followed by a Madgen jumper to boost that lead to 25-13 with 8:33 left in the first half.
The lead grew to 13 twice, the largest margin of the half. Greg Hire hit a pair of free throws with 4:06 to play for the first 13-point margin. UM answered with a Ronald Severtsgaard (East Moline, Ill./United Township) free throw but ASU’s Alex Smith hit one of two from the line to keep the margin at 13.
Montevallo’s Tauras Dortch (Ensley, Ala./Ramsay) hit a 3-pointer from the corner to cut the lead down to nine, but a UM turnover on the ensuing inbounds play, giving ASU the ball with 4.8 seconds remaining. Madgen came off two screens to catch the inbounds at the top of the key, where he was fouled in the act of taking a 3-pointer. With zeros on the scoreboard, Madgen hit all three free throws that gave ASU a 41-30 halftime lead.
The Jaguar lead grew to as many as 14 in the opening 10 minutes of the second half. Greg Hire, who hit all three of his field goal attempts, drained a 14-footer from the elbow that made the lead 47-33. UM cut its deficit to 10 following a Plaza layup, but ASU responded with a Brathwaite jumper at the 14:32 mark that left ASU out in front 53-39. But that would be the last ASU field goal for nearly eight minutes as Montevallo rallied.
The Falcons went on a 12-1 run over the next six minutes that cut the lead down to three. Plaza scored seven straight points for the Falcons, all on driving layups. He was fouled on the final drive and converted the 3-point play with 10:05 left to pull within six. Little capped the run with a driving layup of his own followed by a Demarcus Richard (Portland, Ore./Jefferson) free throw that brought the ASU margin to three with over eight minutes to go.
Down 54-51, Montevallo surrendered two free throws to Madgen before a Little layup cut the lead back to three with 7:21 to play. Madgen responded for the Jaguars with two free throws and a jumper at the 6:34 mark that pushed the lead back to seven, but Little drained a trey and Plaza drove in for another layup to pull the Falcons within 60-58 at the 4:45 mark.
ASU senior point guard Daniel Dixon stopped the bleeding and turned the momentum with a 3-pointer from the left elbow on ASU’s next possession, bringing the 2,131 fans in attendance back to their feet. Little answered with a driving layup, bending around an ASU defender in the air to bank his shot off the glass. That bucket brought the Falcons within 63-60, but they would get no closer as the Jaguars scored seven straight points that left the score 70-60 with 1:13 to play.
Forced to foul, UM put Madgen on the line where he hit four straight over the final 48 seconds to seal the victory. Madgen hit all 14 of his free throw attempts in the game, scoring a game-high 28 points with five rebounds and two assists.
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