Three games and three wins were recorded against conference opponents by the South Georgia Technical College Jets and Lady Jets over the past few days. The Jets ended a three game losing streak by putting it all together to take a 94 – 56 win over Southern Crescent Tech and then roared back to stage a 60 – 54 win over the nationally ranked South Georgia State Hawks. Both games were played on the road.
The Lady Jets were also active over the weekend and closed out their Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) regular season with an impressive 112 – 40 victory over the Albany Technical College Lady Titans in Albany. The top-ranked GCAA Lady Jets will now host the NJCAA Region XVII tournament semi-finals and finals on Friday, February 28th and Saturday, February 29th. The games Friday will be played at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. and the Saturday game will be at 2 p.m.
In the game against South Georgia State College, the Jets were able to hold the South Georgia Hawks at bay in the final minutes of the contest and walk away with the 60 – 54 victory despite having three starters foul out. The Jets led 33 – 24 at the end of the first half and despite being outscored 30 – 27 in the second half, they were able to hang on to the win over the 24th nationally ranked Hawks.
Three Jets were in double-figures in that game and one posted a double-double. Sophomore Justin Johnson led the team in scoring with 18 points, five rebounds and one block. Freshman Jalen Reynolds posted a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. He also had an assist, a steal and a blocked shot before he fouled out.
Freshman Denari Garrett was the other member of the Jets in double-figures. He walked away with 10 points, three rebounds, one assist, and one blocked shot before fouling out. Merdy Bata was the other starter who was sent to the bench with five fouls. He also had four points, three rebounds, one assist, and two blocked shots.
Jalen McKinney started for the Jets and had three points, three rebounds, five assists, one steal and four personal fouls. Toriano Lewis came off the bench for the Jets and had six points. Brice Paster had five points and Jarius Carroll closed out the scoring with three points.
Prior to traveling to Waycross to face off against the third ranked Hawks, the Jets had snapped a three game losing streak with an impressive 94 – 56 win over Southern Crescent Tech in Griffin. That nearly 40-point win was sparked by the play of four different individuals in double figures and one player with a double-double effort.
Sophomore Justice Johnson led the team in scoring with 20 points against Southern Crescent. He also had seven rebounds, one assist, three steals and a blocked shot. Jarius Carroll came off the bench to add 16 points and then freshman Jalen Reynold scored 14 points and had 10 rebounds on the night. DJ Fisher closed out the double-digit scoring with 11 points off the bench for the Jets.
Austin Hadden scored seven points, Jordan Stephens and Tabais Long contributed five points each and then Jaylan McKinney, Merdy Bata, and Brice Paster each tossed in four points. Toriano Lewis and Emmanuel Nwaneri both scored two points.
The other win this weekend by the South Georgia Technical College intercollegiate basketball teams happened when the Lady Jets rolled to a 112 – 40 victory over Albany Technical College. The top-ranked Lady Jets defeated sixth seeded Albany Tech team by 72 points in their last regular season game of the year.
All five of the Lady Jets starters were in double figures and they were joined by sophomore Amara Edeh who came off the bench and also scored in double-digits.
Sophomore Shamari Tyson had a triple-double for the Lady Jets with 28 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists, and five steals in that game. Yasriyyah Wazeerud-Din and Anna McKenzie both added 18 points. Yasriyyah Wazeerud-Din added six rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Anna McKendree had five rebounds, three assists and five steals. Femme Sikuzani had a double-double night with 14 points and 13 rebounds and Oumy Gueye had 13 points, four rebounds, two assists and three steals. Amara Edeh closed out the double figure scoring with her 10 points, nine rebounds, and four steals.
Flore Ngasamputu added four points, Veronica Charles had three and Hope Gutera and Sarah Lawambo had two points each.
As the top ranked GCAA team, the Lady Jets will host the GCAA semi-final and final rounds of the NJCAA Region XVII end of the season tournament. South Georgia Tech and Georgia Highlands both received a bye in the first round quarterfinal round which will be played on Tuesday, February 25th.
The semi-finals of the tournament will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday, February 28th in the Hangar on the South Georgia Tech Americus campus. The Lady Jets will play the winner of the East Georgia State vs. Andrew College game. Those two teams face off on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at East Georgia.
The second game of the tournament will feature second ranked Georgia Highlands vs the winner of the Central Georgia Tech – Albany Tech game at 8 p.m. in the Hangar. Central Georgia Tech and Albany Tech play on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Macon to determine which team will advance.
The two winners will face off at 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 29th in the Hangar and earn the right to advance to the NJCAA District J competition and the right to advance to the NJCAA National Tournament in Lubbock, Texas.