COLUMBUS – No. 19-ranked Columbus State men's basketball took on Augusta (Ga.) on Saturday afternoon in the Christenberry Fieldhouse in early Peach Belt Conference action.
 
The Cougars (10-2, 1-1 PBC) fell four-points shy against the Jaguars (8-4, 2-0 PBC) in a 79-75 heart breaker on the road. CSU notched just the second loss of the season, ending the eight-game winning streak.
 
First Half
 
Three-pointers from Jehloni James and Roman Son opened the first minute of play for CSU, giving the Cougars an early 6-0 advantage. Augusta fought back and the two teams battled in back-and-forth action over the course of the next eight minutes. Columbus State edged out the Jaguars in a 16-14 stretch of scoring for a 22-14 lead with 10 minutes to play with Jarret Adderton leading CSU with seven points followed by Joshua Guilford with three.
 
The next few minutes resulted in continued scoring trips on both ends of the floor as Augusta held an 11-9 advantage to pull the deficit to 31-25 with less than five minutes to play. Wisdom Uboh scored eight points for the cougars as CSU went 3-of-7 from the field in the stretch.
 
Both teams closed the half with an even 10-10 stretch of scoring with James and Adderton totaling five points each. Columbus State closed the half out with a 41-35 lead and finished shooting for 48.1% (13-of-27) from the field. Adderton totaled 12 points in the half followed by 10 from James.
 
Second Half
 
The Cougars quickly jumped to a 48-35 lead early in the half with a 7-0 run out of the halftime break. Augusta would go on to slowly chip away at the CSU lead with a 20-7 run that erased nearly eight minutes off the clock to level the game at 55-55.
 
Both teams leveled the score several times within the following few moments with four points from the Cougars and three from the Jaguars coming from the charity stripe. A jumper from Adderton at the 7:45 mark sparked a 6-0 run for CSU which resulted in a 65-61 lead.
 
The Cougars followed up with some back-and-forth play, beating out the hosts in an 8-6 stretch over three and half minutes to hold a 73-67 lead with less than four minutes to play. Augusta erased the Columbus State lead with an 8-0 run, capturing a 75-73 lead with two minutes remaining. A bucket from Son at the 1:45 mark leveled the game at 75-75, unfortunately, a layup and a pair of free throws from the Jags sealed the fate for CSU in a 79-75 loss. Augusta outscored Columbus State 44-34 in the half to knock off the Cougars.
 
Inside the Numbers

• CSU shot for 45.1% (23-of-51) from the field, 42.1% (8-of-19) from three, and 84% (21-of-25) from the foul line.
• Adderton led the scoring for CSU with 20 points and added five rebounds, three steals, and three assists.
• Uboh followed up with 19 points, going 11-of-13 from the charity stripe, adding three assists in the process.
• James finished with 13 points and two blocks followed by Son's 11 points and two steals.
• Augusta led 30-22 in rebounds with Kordell Brown leading CSU with eight boards while scoring seven points.
• Columbus State tallied eight steals on Augusta's 15 turnovers, scoring 18 points off the miscues. 

Next Up

• Columbus State will return to the Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center on Jan. 8th for a PBC showdown against Georgia Southwestern at 7:30 p.m. ET.