Walterboro, SC - The South Georgia Technical College Jets dropped a tough 83 – 62 decision to USC Salkehatchie, who received votes in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I men’s basketball rankings, to fall to 1 – 3 on the season.
The Jets had upset the 23rd NJCAA Division I Northwest Florida State College Raiders 77 – 73 in Niceville on Wednesday but couldn’t pull off the second win during a three-game road trip that took them to Marianna and Niceville, FL and Walterboro, S.C. They will face 3rd ranked Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, FL, tonight at 7 p.m. Tallahassee is unbeaten this season. The Jets lost a hard fought 84 – 68 decision in their season opener against Tallahassee in Americus on January 20th.
Marvin McGhee, a 6’ 4” freshman guard from Atlanta, led the Jets in scoring with 18 points against USC Salkehatchie. He also pulled down 10 rebounds and had one assist and one steal. He is currently leading the Jets in scoring, averaging 16.3 points per game this season.
Sophomore forward Jalen Reynolds, 6’ 7” from Darien, GA, was the only other Jet in double figures. He also had a double – double night with 15 points and 16 rebounds. He accounted for two blocks, two steals and one assist.
Sophomore guard Jordan Stephens, 6’ 5” from Macon, GA, came off the bench to score nine points and five rebounds and freshman guard Kadeem Wilks, 6’ 2” from Boynton Beach, FL, added seven points. Starting point guard Will Johnson had six points, sophomore forward Tabais Long scored four points and Justice Hayes closed out the scoring with three points.
The Jets fell behind 39 – 23 in the first half and even though they came back in the second half and scored 39 points, USC Salkehatchie accounted for 44 points to clinch the 83 – 62 decision. USC Salkehatchie had three players in double digits. Ronny Walker Jr. scored 22 points, Derrick Sinkler had 12 and Cincere Scott, 10.
South Georgia Tech shot 33.3% from the floor, 19.2% from the three-point line and 53.6% from the foul line. USC hit 45.2% of their shots from the field, 40% of their three-pointers, and 63% of their free throws.
The Jets will try to get back on the winning track tonight against a very strong unbeaten Tallahassee Community College team at 7 p.m. The Jets will return home on Saturday, February 6th for a rematch with USC Salkehatchie in the Hangar at 3 p.m. The Lady Jets play at home on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. against Andrew College in a conference match-up. The Lady Jets play Andrew in Cuthbert on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. for their first conference game of the season and then return to Cuthbert on Saturday, Feb. 6th at 1 p.m. The GCAA scheduled conference matches against each team all in one-week to limit exposure to teams during the COVID-19 pandemics. The Lady Jets will play each conference opponent three times in one week and the Jets will face each conference opponent twice in a week.