Slashed: Bobcats downed by Jags

Last year, the Thunder Crew poured its efforts into promoting Bobcat pride around campus. With a new logo, name and merchandise, Georgia College welcomed the changes and nothing showed that more than last season’s Battle of the Cats.

Georgia College’s upset win over Augusta State University last season instilled the competitiveness of Battle of the Cats, named for the mascots of both schools (Bobcats, Jaguars).

This time around, though, it was the other Cats who emerged victorious, as both GC squads came up short Wednesday. The Bobcat women fell 45-33. The men lost 59-56.

The second edition of the rivalry drew 500-plus students to the student section and about 1,200 fans total.

“We sent out a lot of press releases this year,” Tyler Kemp, Thunder Crew president, said. “It is going to be way more involved this year between the two schools. Last year we kind of made (the rivalry) up and they were kind of denying it. They didn’t want to say we were there rivals, but after the turnout and everything that’s happened, they’ve come to agree with the Battle of the Cats theme we’ve made.”

GC students turned out for the pregame tailgate where they enjoyed live music, free food and lots of Thunder Crew merchandise.

“We tried to really work on not letting down from last year. Once you do it big and then you don’t do it just as big, people are going to talk bad,” Kemp said.

The women’s team (3-12 overalland 1-5 in PBC play) lost Wednesday night’s opener 45-33.

“We’re still working on some kinks. We have some post players trying to handle the ball which is different for them,” said Shanteona Keys, freshman point guard and current Bobcat Athlete of the Week.

Keys and the young Bobcats had a slow first half, shooting 26 percent from the floor and missing all six attempts from beyond the arc. Augusta State went up by 17 in the second half, but Keys’ persistent shooting helped keep it close. Sophomore forward Krysta Lewis led the home team with seven points, while classmate Abby Slocumb and Keys both had six, proving that it is a difficult game without a true point guard.

“We try to teach that we’ll have a point guard by committee,” women’s head coach Maurice Smith said. “It’s a team effort just trying to bring the ball down the floor. Everybody has to be a ball-handler.”

The Bobcats ended the night 1-13 from 3-point range, showing their need for a true point guard.

“We don’t have a penetrator,” Smith said. “I think we have sufficient ball-handlers, but I don’t think our strength is penetration. Once we get it across half court we still have to execute on offense.”

The women travel to Florence, S.C., to continue their rebuilding season. With three teams standing elite in the PBC, the rest of the conference is open for the taking.

The men’s teams took the court next as the crowd continued to grow. The 8-9 Bobcats, who are 1-5 in conference, were supposed to travel to Augusta for the second Battle of the Cats, but a conflict gave GC the home court advantage two years in a row. In a game that went down to the wire, the Bobcats fell 59-56.

Augusta State beat the Bobcats statistically in the first half, shooting 60 percent from the floor to Georgia College’s 33. But it was junior Ryan Lively’s three-ball that gave the Bobcats the edge in the first half.

Lively added nine quick points in the first half and ended with 15, helping the Georgia College bench outscore ASU’s 20-6.

“I didn’t really penetrate and the three was there,” Lively said. “But none of it matters if you don’t win.”

Senior forward Ryan Aquino recorded another double-double in the loss with 20 points and 11 boards, putting GC on top in the rebound column 36-27. Despite having another solid night, Aquino could not lead his team to another triumph.

With three minutes left, Aquino nailed a floater in the paint to trim ASU’s lead by two. A forced turnover and an ASU foul put Holmes at the freethrow line where he made one of two. On his missed shot, Mike Augustine tipped it in to put the Bobcats up by one.

The Bobcats had a chance late, but weren’t able to get off a good shot.

“It was a play we run all the time,” Aquino said. “We messed it up on the exchange and couldn’t get off a good shot.”

Despite two losses the second annual Battle of the Cats was a large success and proved Georgia College does have some school spirit to get excited about.

“What a great atmosphere, a great college atmosphere,” Athletic Director Wendell Staton said. “I give all the credit to Thunder Crew and all the work that they’re doing. NCAA Division II talks a lot about game environment and we have it.”

Posted by Taylor Lamb on Jan 19 2012. Filed under Lead stories, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.