Albany, Georgia - The South Georgia Technical College Jets overcame a 13-point deficit in the second half to take a last second 84 - 80 victory over Albany Technical College in Albany. This was the Jets fourth consecutive win and they moved to 4 – 2 in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) conference play. The Lady Jets made it a clean sweep of Albany Tech when they coasted to a 76 – 46 win over the Lady Titans to remain unbeaten in the GCAA with an 11 – 0 record this season.
“Tonight was a big win for us,” said South Georgia Technical College Jets head coach Travis Garrett. “The guys played hard and didn’t give up when we got down. It is hard to win on the road but three of our last four wins have come from away games. I am very proud of our guys’ effort in the second half against Albany Tech.”
The Jets were trailing 51 – 38 at the end of the first half. Not a single member of the Jets squad was in double-figures at the half. Freshman forward Jeremy Johnson led the team in scoring at the half with six points and he ended the game with a total of eight.
Freshman guard Justin Johnson was the top scorer for the Jets with a total of 22 points. All but four of those points came in the second half. He made three of three from the three-point line late in the second half to help the Jets overcome a slight deficit and move on to the four-point victory.
Freshman guard Toriano Lewis from Richmond, VA, scored to tie the game at 72 – 72 with five minutes left in the game. Both teams missed several scoring opportunities over the next three minutes. Finally, DJ Fisher hit a three-pointer with approximately two minutes left on the clock to put the Jets up 76 – 75.
Freshman point guard Jaylan McKinney made three of four free throws in the final seconds of the game and that combined with a dunk by Justin Johnson gave the Jets the 84 – 80 come from behind victory. Jaylan McKinney was the second leading scorer for the Jets with 11 points on the night. He also had three crucial steals in the last few minutes of the game. McKinney and Justin Johnson were the only two SGTC players in double figures.
Sophomore forward Adonis Green had a good night with nine points and nine rebounds. Jeremy Johnson ended up with eight points and Toriano Lewis came away with seven. DJ Fisher and Samuel Matice both had six points. Dijon Brown, Nick Cummings, and Jonathan Tchuisse each contributed four points and Durand Green closed out the scoring with three points on the night.
The Jets are now in fourth place in the conference with a 4 – 2 record and are 8 – 12 overall. They are averaging 72.2 points per game. Each of their last four wins have been by five points or less and one came in over-time.
“I think with each win our team is building confidence,” said Jets head coach Travis Garrett. “Hopefully we can continue to work hard and build on this success and begin to move up in the standings.” Central Georgia Tech is currently in first place in the men’s division with a 6 – 1 record followed by Georgia Highlands and Gordon College who are tied for second place with identical 5 – 1 performances. SGTC defeated Georgia Highlands but dropped narrow losses to Central Georgia and Andrew College.
The Lady Jets opened up with a strong 76 – 46 win over the Albany Tech Lady Titans in the first game to make the night a clean sweep for South Georgia Tech. The Lady Jets remained in first place in the GCAA with an 11 – 0 record and are now 19 – 3 overall. Georgia Highlands is currently in second place in the conference with an 8 – 1 record. Albany Tech is in fourth place with a 4 – 7 performance.
The Lady Jets took a 23 – 13 lead at the end of the first quarter and were up 43 – 25 at the half. They continued to outscore Albany Tech 35 – 21 in the second half to wind up with the 76 – 46 victory.
Sophomore guard Alyssa Nieves showed why she was selected as the GCAA Player of the Week last week by leading the Lady Jets in scoring with 19 points. She was five of 11 from the three-point line. Sophomore forward Ricka Jackson was close behind with 16 points. She was two of two from the three-point line. Bigue Sarr closed out the double-digit scoring with 13 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double performance.
Fatou Pouye accounted for eight points, Rio Yamazaki contributed seven points, Amara Edeh had six, and Mari Hill scored five points. Laky Samo closed out the scoring with two points.
The Jets will travel to Barnesville Saturday, January 26th to face Gordon State College at 3 p.m. and then both the Jets and Lady Jets travel to Swainsboro on Wednesday, January 30th for a conference double-header with East Georgia State College. The Lady Jets play at 5:30 and the Jets at 7:30. The two teams return home for a double-header against Central Georgia Tech on Saturday, February 2nd at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.