 SPRINGFIELD,
Mass. -- Augusta State’s magical run to the National
Championship came up just short on Saturday afternoon as
the Jaguars fell to Winona State 87-76 in the final game
of the Elite Eight. The No. 3 Warriors claimed their
second national championship in three years after
trailing by as many as 15 in the first half and by 12 at
halftime. With the loss, ASU’s most successful season in
school history comes to an end with a 27-7 record while
Winona State, who set an NCAA single-season wins record,
finishes 38-1.
After a back-and-forth opening to the game, the
10th-ranked Jaguars took control of the first half with
a 10-0 run with under six minutes to go. All-American
forward Tyrekus ‘AJ’ Bowman was unstoppable in the half
for ASU, connecting on 9-of-11 shots for 20 points. The
senior from Tignall, Ga., scored eight of ASU’s 10
points during the first-half run while Ben Madgen added
five more.
A layup from Winona’s David Johnson cut the lead to
eight with 2:44 to play in the first, but the Jaguars
responded with six straight points to open up a 16-point
lead, their largest of the game. However, a Curtel
Robinson free throw and a three-pointer from Quincy
Henderson at the buzzer cut the lead to 12.
The second half was nearly an exact reversal of the
first as Winona State began their comeback down 12 with
14:21 to play. The Warriors outscored the Jaguars 19-5
over the next six minutes, including holding ASU without
a point for over four minutes. After shooting only 38%
in the first half, the Warriors hit 50% of their shots
from the field in the second half, finally taking a
65-63 lead with 7:40 to go.
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 SPRINGFIELD,
Mass. -- The Augusta State men’s basketball team
will be honored with a welcome home reception on Sunday,
March 30 at 12 noon at Forest Hills Golf Club Grille
Room.
The 10th-ranked Jaguars take on No. 4 Winona State
(Minn.) for the national championship Saturday afternoon
at the MassMutual Center. The nationally-televised
contest on CBS is slated to begin at 2:30 p.m.
ASU is scheduled to depart Bradley International
Airport in Hartford, Conn., at 7:15 a.m. Sunday morning,
and after a stopover over in Atlanta, is scheduled to
arrive at Augusta Regional Airport at 11:34 a.m.
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