AUGUSTA, Ga. - The Columbus State University men's basketball team couldn't slow down the hot 3-point shooting of 10th-ranked Augusta University on Friday, falling 87-75 to the top-seeded Jaguars in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament semifinals inside Christenberry Fieldhouse in Augusta.

The Cougars (20-10) outshout Augusta, but the Jags were 10-for-26 (38.5%) from beyond the arc, including four from Miguel Arnold, helping the hosts to the victory.

"Augusta fought hard to get to host this tournament, and they are so hard to beat on their home court," commented head coach Robert Moore. "We were down a key guy tonight, and that hurt for sure, but you have to give Augusta tons of credit for the win tonight."

It was a tight game throughout, but the Cougars were only in front early. Langston Gaither nailed a 3-pointer to begin the scoring, while Grant Howard put CSU ahead 5-3 following a trey from Augusta (27-3). That would be Columbus State's last lead of the night as AU ran off eight straight points to take a 13-7 lead. The Jags ended the spurt on a 15-5 run to take an eight-point lead (18-10) with 13:39 to play in the first.

Columbus State came back though, with seven quick points, including five from Howard to make it an 18-17 Augusta lead. The Jaguars would stretch the lead back out to seven, where it would hover around for the remainder of the half. Gaither converted a three-point play for the Cougars before the buzzer to make it a 38-32 game at the half. 

The Cougars shot it well in the second but couldn't string together a run to regain the lead. Augusta scored seven of the first 11 points of the period to go up 11 (47-36), but the Cougars had the deficit back down to seven (49-42) following a Nelson Haskin dunk at the 13:51 mark.

CSU hung around and inched within four (59-54) on a Howard layup at the 8:28 mark. However, a 3-pointer from Arnold on the next possession halted the momentum, as the Cougars would never get within seven of the lead for the remainder of the game. 

Haskin had a career-high 25 points for the Cougars after going 10-for-14 from the field. The PBC Defender of the Year pulled down seven rebounds to go with three blocks and assists. Howard had 22 points and a game-high five assists. He was 4-for-8 from long range. Gaither finished the night with 16 points and six boards.

CSU shot 46.9% as a team and was 7-of-20 (36.4%) on 3-point attempts. 

Arnold and Ja'Quesze Kirby both had 18 for Augusta. The Jags shot 43.9% overall.

UP NEXT
Columbus State will await to see if it receives an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA selection show will be at 10:30 p.m. on Sunday.

GAME NOTES
• It's just the second loss for CSU when shooting 40% or better from the floor in 2021-22. The Cougars were 18-1 entering Friday night
• Augusta tied a PBC record for the fewest turnovers in a game with three. The Cougars had 10 in the game
• It was the third 20-plus point game for Howard this season. The 22-point outing ties a season-high 
• CSU's bench had just two points
• The Jaguars improve to 16-0 at home this year. Overall, AU has won 13 straight
• The Cougars fall to 1-5 against Augusta in PBC Tournament play. Overall, AU leads the all-time series 51-36