Defending champs starting to show last season's form

Reviewing and previewing local college basketball:

Kennesaw State. All of a sudden, the No. 6-ranked Owls are 11-1 and regaining their national championship form of last season. The Tony Ingle-led squad held the league's top scoring team, Columbus State, to 54 points in an 18-point victory Wednesday night. Kennesaw State now gets a rare six-day break due to tonight's postponement with USC Aiken.

Nola Grant. The USC Aiken junior forward is averaging 6.6 points over the past five contests and has fallen to second in team scoring.

The Paine women are slowly rising to the top of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with four league wins. A win against Clark Atlanta (4-6, 2-1) at 5:30 tonight at Carter Gym would go a long way.

The Paine men face a tricky test at 7:30. The Lions face a Clark Atlanta team (1-7) that won its first game Thursday at Kentucky State.

Think former USC Aiken coach Mike Roberts knew when to jump ship? If not for two games against UNC Pembroke, the Pacers would face the possibility of not winning a game in the Peach Belt Conference.

1. Augusta State (8-4, 1-0 PBC). Freshman Cameron Tovey leads the team in assists (43) and steals (18) against just 20 turnovers.

2. Paine (3-5, 3-2 SIAC). Nate Lewis scored 19 in Paine's win over Miles on Thursday, the Lions' second conference win in a row.

3. USC Aiken (4-7, 0-1 PBC). Tonight's postponement with Kennesaw State couldn't have come at a better time for the Pacers, losers of six of their past seven.

4. Aiken Tech (4-8, 2-0 Region 10). Knights have won two straight after winning just two of their first 10.

1. USC Aiken (11-4, 1-0 PBC). Lana Mandic third in Peach Belt field-goal shooting (51 percent).

2. Augusta State (7-5, 1-0 PBC). Lady Jaguars haven't broken the 60-point barrier the past four games.

3. Paine (4-5, 4-0 SIAC). Kisha Lucette scored 15 in the Lady Lions' win Thursday over Miles.

Augusta State men at Armstrong Atlantic State, 7:30 p.m., tonight. Give credit to coach Dip Metress for the job he's doing with the Jaguars, a team that went 11-17 last season. Augusta State is scraping together wins and should be a contender for the Peach Belt's North Division title.

Reach Chris Gay at (706) 823-3645 or chris.gay@augustachronicle.com.