When Augusta University senior center Tyshaun Crawford joined the men’s basketball program almost four years ago, he said the established players welcomed him to the family with open arms.

They grew as a family, utilizing the team chemistry they worked so hard to create and turned it into three Peach Belt Conference Tournament championships in five years. On March 5, the team secured that third crown with an 86-72 victory over fourth-seeded Lander to earn the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Later in the night, the team found out they would be the No. 1 seed in the Southeast Regional for the second consecutive year during the NCAA Selection Show. The Jaguars, who lost in the national title game in 2022 to Northwest Missouri State, will play Emmanuel (Georgia) at 5 p.m. Saturday, March 11 in the opening round at Christenberry Fieldhouse, where the Jaguars are 35-2 over the past two seasons.

Crawford, who was named to the Top 50 Watch List for the 2023 Bevo Francis Award earlier this season, was named PBC Tournament MVP after averaging 22 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.7 block per game. After the game he received some special love from his mom, who was in attendance for the title game.

“My mom is my everything. She keeps me level-headed,” Crawford said. “My mom is there for everything and she tells me, ‘You’re going to have a bad game every now and then. You just have stick with it.’ She believed when nobody else believed, and now we’re here as back-to-back champions.”

The Jaguars (26-5), ranked No. 18 in the nation according to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), had a total team effort in the PBC Tournament.

Four players scored in double figures in Thursday’s quarterfinal game against Flagler, with Tyree Myers leading the way with 20 points. In Friday’s semifinal game against Columbus State, Crawford led three players in double figures with a double-double effort of 23 points and 13 rebounds. Crawford capped the tournament off in Sunday’s championship game by dominating the second half. He finished with 31 points after only scoring nine in the first half.