AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Augusta State withstood a long-distance barrage by Lander Wednesday night and claimed an 88-76 victory over the Bearcats in Peach Belt Conference action at Christenberry Fieldhouse.

Senior forward Tyrekus “AJ” Bowman paced the 18th-ranked Jaguars with 28 points, six rebounds, six assists and three blocks. Junior center Garret Siler booked his fifth double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while sophomores Daniel Dixon and Ben Madgen had 14 points and four assists each. Senior reserve guard Demetrius Howard tallied 12 points off the bench and grabbed seven rebounds.

Senior guard Zach Evans paced the Bearcats with 29 points, drilling 7-of-8 3-point attempts. Houston Wright managed 17 and Ford Lawrence added 10. Lander drilled 15 treys as a team and shot 57.7 percent from beyond the arch. Wright added five 3-pointers, and Dane Sparrow and Lawrence combined for three more.

With the win, ASU improved to 10-3 overall and to 5-1 in conference play. Lander, last season’s Peach Belt Conference Tournament champions, dropped to 5-7 overall and 2-3 in the league.

The Jags’ 88 points marked their second-highest point total of the season, and they set a new season low with just six turnovers. ASU hit 11 treys of its own, the third-best total of the year from long range. Bowman extended his streak of double-figure scoring games to 33, while Madgen stretched his to 15.

The Bearcats jumped out to an early double-digit lead on the strength of their outside shooting. They moved out in front 33-20 on their sixth trey in the first 13 minutes of the game. ASU then closed the half with a 21-7 run in the final 6:13 to take a 41-40 lead.

Lander scored first to begin the second half before the Jags countered with three straight baskets, two by Bowman. ASU never trailed the rest of the way, although the Bearcats twice got to within one of the lead on back-to-back treys. The Jags pulled away late as the visitors finally cooled off, hitting on just one 3-pointer over the final 9:39.

ASU continues its three-game homestand when it hosts North Georgia in a PBC contest on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 4:00 p.m.

Official Basketball Box Score
Lander vs Augusta State
01/16/08 7:40 p.m. at Augusta, Ga. (Christenberry Fieldhouse)
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VISITORS: Lander 5-7, 2-3 PBC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
34 Harris, Brenton..... f  0-3    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   4   0  0  0  1  0  13
40 Smith, Scottie...... f  3-7    0-1    1-2    1  3  4   1   7  1  3  1  0  24
13 Evans, Zach......... g  9-14   7-8    4-4    0  4  4   3  29  3  4  0  4  33
20 Sparrow, Dane....... g  2-9    2-6    0-0    0  4  4   0   6  6  0  0  0  29
21 Wright, Houston..... g  6-12   5-8    0-0    0  2  2   2  17  2  1  0  1  33
03 Allison, Travis.....    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   4
10 Lawrence, Ford......    2-4    1-2    5-6    0  0  0   2  10  4  0  0  0  27
12 Jones, Garry........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0  0+
15 Johnson, Darius.....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   2   0  1  0  0  0  11
32 Milner, Curtis......    3-4    0-0    1-2    2  1  3   2   7  0  0  0  0  26
   TEAM................                         5  2  7
   Totals..............   25-54  15-26  11-14   8 18 26  16  76 17  8  2  5 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-32 50.0%   2nd Half:  9-22 40.9%   Game: 46.3%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  8-12 66.7%   2nd Half:  7-14 50.0%   Game: 57.7%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  0-0   0.0%   2nd Half: 11-14 78.6%   Game: 78.6%    1

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HOME TEAM: Augusta State 10-3, 5-1 PBC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
01 Madgen, Ben......... f  5-15   2-8    2-2    1  2  3   1  14  4  0  0  1  32
23 Bowman, Tyrekus..... f 11-17   0-2    6-9    3  3  6   2  28  6  0  3  0  37
21 Siler, Garret....... c  6-9    0-0    5-5    4  7 11   3  17  2  0  1  0  34
00 Dixon, Daniel....... g  5-8    4-6    0-0    0  5  5   5  14  4  3  0  0  29
02 Smith, Steve........ g  0-1    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  4  3  0  1  27
03 Howard, Demetrius...    4-8    4-6    0-0    3  4  7   1  12  2  0  0  2  28
04 Quarles, Jamie......    0-0    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   2
24 Brown, Caleb........    1-2    1-2    0-0    0  0  0   3   3  1  0  0  0   6
33 Tambon, Luke........    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   5
   TEAM................                         1  1  2
   Totals..............   32-61  11-25  13-16  13 23 36  16  88 23  6  4  4 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-30 50.0%   2nd Half: 17-31 54.8%   Game: 52.5%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  5-13 38.5%   2nd Half:  6-12 50.0%   Game: 44.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  6-7  85.7%   2nd Half:  7-9  77.8%   Game: 81.3%    1

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Officials: Steve Coleman (R), Billy Dunlap (U1), Bruce Bell (U2)
Technical fouls: Lander-None. Augusta State-None.
Attendance: 1023
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Lander........................   40   36  -   76
Augusta State.................   41   47  -   88

Points in the paint-LU 12,ASU 22. Points off turnovers-LU 2,ASU 11.
2nd chance points-LU 6,ASU 19. Fast break points-LU 0,ASU 5.
Bench points-LU 17,ASU 15. Score tied-4 times. Lead changed-12 times.
Last FG-LU 2nd-04:43, ASU 2nd-01:21.