Johnson C. Smith is David to Augusta State's Goliath in the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional.

The eighth-seeded Golden Bulls, champions of the CIAA, will have a decided height disadvantage in Saturday's first round game against No. 2 Augusta State (22-5), the host and Peach Belt Conference regular season champ. The Jaguars also won their only regular season meeting 93-70 on Nov. 21.

"It'll be interesting to see how much we've grown since the first ball game in November," Bulls coach Steve Joyner said.
Physically, Smith has yet to catch up to Augusta State's 6-11, 304 pound center Garret Siler, who led the Jaguars' win against the Bulls with 17 points and 10 rebounds. For the season, he averaged 14.6 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.

"They really handled us easily at their place," Joyner said. "I remember after the game coach (Mark) Sherrill told the guys, `remember this, because you might be seeing them again in the regionals."

When defenses collapse inside, the Jaguars go perimeter with 6-5 forward Tyrekus Bowman, who leads the team with 18.8 points per outing. Augusta State likes the three-point shot, connecting on 225 of 625 (36 percent) this season.

Augusta State can also stretch defenses with three-point shooting, which will test the balance Smith (21-9) has used to win seven straight games.

"The key is consistency in play," Joyner said. "We're going to have to use that carryover value from the CIAA tournament, especially on the defensive end and rebounding."

Smith's success has been built on defense. In going 8-2 over the last 10 games, the Bulls have allowed an average of 65.5 points per game, and rebounding, which had been a problem area most of the season, also improved.

"If we play collective defense like we did at the CIAA tournament, we might be able to dictate some things," Joyner said.

The Bulls will also need to get to the basket consistently, too. At  6-8, senior center David Sanders has provided some spark in the lane to go with sophomore forward Jerry Hollis (11.2 points per game). If they force Siler and Augusta State to honor their presence, it can open the perimeter to guards Ron Thornhill, Maurice Hooper (11.6 ppg) and Ryan Scott (11.1). Smith also has a slasher in Ed Rainey, the CIAA tournament's most valuable player. Rainey, who  emerged as a leader with a promotion to the starting lineup, averages 10.4 points an outing.

"We're looking for collective balance," Joyner said. "We can't go down there and have one person score a lot of points and expect to be successful against that team."