AUGUSTA, Ga. -- On the strength of three straight wins, Augusta State moved back inside the top 20 Tuesday when the Jaguars landed at No. 18 in the nation in the latest NABC/Coaches poll.

The ranking marks the seventh consecutive week this season in which the Jaguars have appeared in the national rankings. The Jags are one of two Peach Belt Conference teams to appear in the poll. USC Aiken moved from No. 8 to No. 7.

ASU began the season ranked sixth before moving as high as No. 5. After spending two weeks at No. 14, the Jags improved to No. 12 in the last national poll prior to the holidays.

Since returning to Peach Belt Conference play, ASU has recorded a 70-60 home victory over Clayton State and back-to-back road wins at UNC Pembroke (72-49) and Armstrong Atlantic State (83-82 in overtime).

The Jaguars take a 9-3 overall record and a 4-1 mark in league play into Wednesday night’s PBC matchup with Lander (5-6, 2-2) at 7:30 p.m. in Christenberry Fieldhouse. The contest marks the first of three straight home games for ASU, which hosts North Georgia on Saturday afternoon and USC Aiken on Monday evening.

NABC/Division II Coaches Poll
(records are through Sunday, Jan. 13)

                                            Record          Points          Pvs.

1.  Bentley (Mass.) (6)                       14-0            198             1
2.  Grand Valley State (Mich.) (2)            18-0            194             2
3.  Winona State (Minn.)                      18-1            183             4
4.  Rollins (Fla.)                            13-1            175             5
5.  Cal State-San Bernardino                  13-1            168             6
6.  Drury (Mo.)                               13-1            156             7
7.  USC Aiken                                 12-1            149             8
8.  South Dakota                              14-1            146             3
9.  West Liberty State (W.Va.)                11-0            137             10
10. Nebraska-Omaha                            14-1            121             12
11. Florida Tech                              12-1            110             11
12. Northern State (S.D.)                     16-1            105             15
13. Gannon, Pa.                               14-1            97              18
14. Alaska-Anchorage                          12-3            93              19
15. Findlay (Ohio)                            13-3            90              9
16. Pittsburg State (Kan.)                    11-2            75              14
17. Southwestern Oklahoma St.                 12-3            72              13
18. AUGUSTA STATE                              9-3            53              22
19. St. Cloud State (Minn.)                   13-3            50              20
20. Northwest Missouri State                  10-3            43              16
21. Abilene Christian (Texas)                 12-2            38              NR
22. Humboldt State (Calif.)                   10-3            31              NR
23. St. Augustine’s (N.C.)                    10-2            28              25
24. Seattle Pacific (Wash.)                   11-2            17              NR
25. LIU-C.W. Post (N.Y.)                      11-2            16              NR

Others receiving votes: Seattle (Wash.) 15, Tarleton State (Texas) 9, Chaminade (Hawaii) 7, Lenoir- Rhyne (N.C.) 5, Mount Olive (N.C.) 4, Texas A&M-Kingsville 4, Armstrong Atlantic State (Ga.) 3, Brigham Young-Hawaii 2, Virginia Union 2, California (Pa.) 1, Carson-Newman (Tenn.) 1, Saint Rose (N.Y.) 1, Southwest Baptist (Mo.) 1.
*First-place votes in parentheses