SPRINGFIELD, Mass. --- Augusta State's men's basketball fans -- the Blue Crew -- stood on their feet and applauded their team a final time Thursday night.
The fourth-ranked Jaguars overcame a late 11-point deficit but could not finish off Cal Poly Pomona, falling 74-70 in the NCAA Division II Final Four at the MassMutual Center.
"Mixed emotions," said Pam Lightsey, who manages the Augusta State JagCard student ID program. "I'm proud they made it this far. We'll make plans for next year."
The Broncos (25-7) advanced to the Division II championship game Saturday. The Jaguars, who finished the best season in school history at 30-5, return home today.
"We're proud of the boys," Augusta State bookstore merchandise buyer Eva Martin said. "We're just sad it's the last game for our seniors."
Five years ago when Dip Metress became the fifth head coach in Augusta State history, he had little support for his program. He even gave away a car his first few years to draw fans to Christenberry Fieldhouse.
Since then, Mr. Metress has brought success and excitement to the school, with people throughout the community embracing the program. About 200 Jaguar fans traveled to the Bay State to watch their team.
Augusta State is the only Peach Belt Conference team to make a second consecutive appearance in the Elite Eight. Last year, the Jaguars advanced to the Division II national title game but fell to Winona State.
This season, Augusta State won the Peach Belt regular-season and tournament titles. The Jaguars also won the Southeast Regional and then defeated Christian Brothers in the Elite Eight.
Reach Chris Gay at (706) 823-3645 or chris.gay@augustachronicle.com.
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grate job!!!!!!!
grate???
Siler , Madgen, Brathwaite didn't get any help from those other guys that were suited up.They could have left them back in Augusta, especially Smith and Killeen, those two are straight sorry. Dip did the best thing to put Smith on the bench beside him the second half. He should have been there on the bench the whole game. Please the one's that didn't give 100% just watch yourselves on tape, it was discusting.
Great Job Dip. Even though we did not win you had a great season. I have enjoyed everygame this year even if we came up short.
Jagfan - what do you mean by "even though we did not win" ... this team is a winning team in every way. My congratulations go to the team, the coaches and the fans for a great season. Go Jags!!
Congrats....we were all pulling for you! It was wonderful to have a great representative from our Peach Belt Conference.....and even though I work for USCA and a Pacer fan, we're all in this together.....well done!!!
Debster i was referring to the comments made by nicole 4. Even though we did not win last night we played great all season long. I attended nearly every game home and away and do not appreciate her comments.
I'm really gonna miss Garret, Steve and Jason. Each of them have made huge contributions to the program in their time here. I hate those guys won't get a national championship, because they deserve it. Best of luck to all of them in the future.
Jagfan, I don't care how you sugar coat it, millions of others who watched that game saw only 3 players showed up. The rest were out in la!a! land. Didn't you see Smith was on the bench the second have. How clearer can you get that. Yes I wished they had won the Championship, but it has to be a TEAM effort, and that wasn't the case. If it had then they would be playing on Saturday. Duh.....Let the truth be told!!
There are two postings on here that I hope are not representative of the college sports fans in the CSRA: Mikejones: I bleieve the correct spelling is GREAT, not GRATE. Nicole4 you Posted: "Didn't you see Smith was on the bench the second have". I am sure you meant the second HALF. So much for the English lesson today, now back to recess.
The ASU Jags played a good game, but they were playing catchup pretty much from the start. They did have a three point lead right at the end, but the fouls are what did them in. In essence they beat themselves right at the end of the game. But they are a great team, and let's hope next year that the third time's the charm.
This is to Nicole 4, first off you don't have a command of the English Language and you don't understand basketball and the rolls that Jason and Steve play and how difficult their positions are. You are no Jags fan! No problem we don't need you and we will celebrate all of them as we always do. Yours truly, HUGE JAGS FAN who understand the game.
nicole, regardless of what you think about how Steve and Jason played yesterday, the fact is they helped us reach two Final Fours and were a part of the most successful run in school history. On top of that, they were good kids who represented ASU in the right way. They didn't play their best yesterday - no one on the team did. But they still deserve respect for the contributions they've made to the team, the school and the community.
maybe if #2 had that bro cut, he could have scored more and played better d. that had to be weighing the po boy down!
jubalearly, you probably sit down to pee.