USC Aiken, AU fall in 1st round of Peach Belt tournament

GRANITEVILLE, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - It’s March, which means it’s time for the madness!

The 2024 Peach Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament is underway at USC Aiken.

The August Jaguars and the USC Aiken were in action on Wednesday night, with hopes of getting one step closer to winning a conference championship.

By finishing the regular season by winning eight out of their last nine games, the USC Aiken Pacers won the Peach Belt regular season title for the second year in a row, helping them earn the opportunity to host this tournament for the first time since 2011.

Despite having home-court advantage, the Pacers didn’t give their fans too much to cheer for early on against Georgia College.

USC Aiken was down by as many as 14 points in the first half, but a late surge helped cut that deficit to five heading into halftime.

The Pacers went on another run within the first handful of minutes of the second half to take the lead, but turnovers throughout the game in key moments led to their demise.

USC Aiken came up short … 83-71, putting a dark cloud over their incredible finish to the regular season.

Shortly after the fourth and final first-round matchup took place, the Augusta Jaguars, who came into this year’s tournament as a five-seed, went head-to-head with Flagler College.

This season has been filled with plenty of ups and downs for Dip Metress’s squad.

Big names we’re used to seeing ball out this time of the year have all graduated, and now the new wave of young Jaguars have the opportunity to step up and make a name for themselves.

The first half of Wednesday’s finale between the Jaguars and the Saints was back and forth with a lot of action.

Both teams road the rollercoaster on emotions throughout, but Augusta’s inability to crash the boards made it difficult for them to stay in it down the stretch.

The Jags came up on the wrong side of the box score as well … 81 to 70. Here’s what Head Coach Metress had to say after that tough loss.

“Our guys don’t know this, but if we would’ve won this game, we would’ve gotten into the NCAA tournament probably. It’s the story of our season. We go home, we go count uniforms, and we go out recruiting. So, I’m disappointed, I’m disappointed we didn’t get to the free throw line. Never got into one and one in either half. Kirby picked up some fouls early ... that hurt us, but all in all, I’m still extremely proud. I’m extremely pleased with how we finished the season. We’ve got to get a lot better because we’re never satisfied not playing in championships around here,” he said.

As for USC Aiken, they’re going to be in the NCAA Division Two national tournament, but only time will tell how far they’ll fall in the seeding after their tough loss to Georgia College.

Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.