AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The top-seeded and No. 18-ranked host Augusta State men's basketball team used another sizzling start to a second half to down No. 8-seed Elizabeth City State, 79-53, in the first round of the 2007 NCAA DII South Atlantic Regional at the George A. Christenberry Fieldhouse on Saturday evening.

The Jaguars (24-6) opened the second half on a 19-7 run, with the punctuation coming on an A.J. Bowman dunk with 11:45 left to build a 20-point lead, 55-35. During that burst, the Jaguars hit 7-of-11 shots from the floor, including two three-pointers, to take control of the contest. Elizabeth City State (16-16) was also assessed two technical fouls during the stretch.

Augusta State also did most of its damage without All-Peach Belt performer Garret Siler. Siler fouled out with 7:54 remaining in the contest after playing just nine minutes, scoring two points and notching four rebounds. PBC Player of the Year A.J. Bowman helped pick up the slack, leading all scorers with 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the floor and 6-of-6 from the foul line - his 18th game this season scoring 20 or more points. Peach Belt Freshman of the Year Ben Madgen added 18 points. Elizabeth City State was led by senior C.J. Pigford, who tallied 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor, and Anthony Butler, who scored 11 first-half points.

The Jaguars used a 9-3 run at the end of the first half to go into intermission with a 36-28 advantage. Augusta State hit 12-of-29 shots from the floor but canned five three-pointers and went a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line. Elizabeth City State stayed close by hitting 4-of-8 threes in the first half, but went 0-for-4 from the free throw line and shot just 35.3 percent from the floor (12-of-34).

On the game, the Jaguars held Elizabeth City State to just 33.8 percent from the floor, while taking advantage at the free throw line by hitting 16-of-17 tosses from the charity stripe. The Vikings suffered from an off night from the stripe as well, hitting just 5-of-14 free throws.

Augusta State, hosting the NCAA regional for the first time and making its first appearance since 2001-02, improved to 2-4 all-time in NCAA postseeason contests. The Vikings, who won four straight games in the CIAA tournament to earn the league's automatic bid, made its first NCAA postseason appearance since 1999.

The Jaguars meet the winner of tonight's final game between No. 4-seeded Armstrong Atlantic State and No. 5-seeded Wingate on Sunday evening at 7:30 p.m. in the second semifinal contest. (BOX SCORE) (PHOTOS)

Quotes:

Augusta State Head Coach Dip Metress:
"One key going into the game was to rebound the basketball. I told them if we rebound, we win. In the second half we outrebounded them and that was the key to the game. They were relentless on the glass and we did a great job in the second half of keeping them off the glass. It was a great win for our program."

"We felt that they were going to take quick shots. It got physical, but we kept our composure."

"We got one, tomorrow's the game. We're excited about playing tomorrow and excited about being a part of this."

"Sometimes in these games you can get a little too excited or try to overanlyze things. We just did the same thing we do every game. We're going to approach tomorrow the same. We were very composed, we hit some shots early and that helped us. We made some mistakes, but we went to the next play; and that's huge."

Augusta State's Tyrekus "AJ" Bowman:
 "We got off to a good start as a team. I'm not going to say that's what I did, but as a team we got off to a good start and that was the key."

"We have a great, well-rounded team, so nobody has to pick up any slack."

Augusta State's Ben Madgen:
 "Once I hit a few shots, it felt good and the team was rolling then. We had a good end to the first half and carried that on to the rest of the game."

"They were obviously going to play physical, so we kept our heads and we knew that we just had to play through that. If we take that and just keep playing hard, it will go our way."

Elizabeth City State Head Coach Shawn Walker:
 "I thought we were in good shape in the second half. But we had a turn of events over three or four different plays that...our character came into question as a team and we were unable to get back into our particular flow. It was a good game. We got down 10, 11 points. We shot far too many three pointers, that happened because we were out of character. We turned the ball over on key possessions where I thought we could make runs. We shot free throws miserably. All in all, the best team won."

"This is our first time here in the region since I've been coach. It showed tonight that we do not handle getting down. We had a tough draw, but we showed we're a lot better than a 16-loss team. But we have to learn how to meet the level of intensity at this level. Hopefully, we'll be able to get back here again in the future. It was a learning experience for both our coaching staff and our players."

"I can't say we had a good season, but we had a championship season. I guess sometimes that might mean a bit more than having a good season. I'm a little disappointed, we certainly had better talent than a team that loses 16 games. The good part is that the nucleus of this team is back."