South Georgia Technical College Jets sophomore forward Aaron Pitts scored 38 points to lead the Jets to an impressive comeback against the second ranked South Georgia State Hawks and force the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) game into overtime. However, South Georgia State outscored the Jets 23 – 12 in overtime to capture the 87 – 76 victory.
“I was very proud of the way we came back against South Georgia State. The guys did not give up and once we tied the game and even went ahead by three, we felt like we had a great shot to win in regulation,” said SGTC Jets head coach Chris Ballauer. “However, you have to give it to South Georgia State. They came back and tied the game and forced it into overtime. They had the momentum at that point and did what they had to do to win.”
The Jets trailed by as many as 15 points early and were still down 37 – 26 at the half. South Georgia State maintained a lead until sophomore guard Jordan Brown hit a three-pointer with 50 seconds on the clock to tie the game at 61 – 61. Sophomore Nathan Wilson popped a three-pointer with 26.1 seconds to give the Jets a 64 – 61 lead. South Georgia State rallied with 15.7 seconds and tied the game at 64 – 64 before the final buzzer and force the game into overtime.
The Hawks dominated the overtime session scoring 11 unanswered points in nearly two and a half minutes. The Jets finally got on the board with a free-throw with 2:36 remaining. The Jets did cut the deficit to seven points with a little over a minute left but South Georgia State finished strong and took the 87 – 76 victory.
The Jets were three of 10 from the floor in overtime with only one three-pointer. They did make five of seven three throws but wound up 10 of 18 from the foul line for the game. South Georgia State hit seven of eight field goals, one three pointer, and eight of nine free throws in overtime.
Turnovers continued to be a problem for the Jets with 23 against South Georgia State. The Jets were only 25% from the three-point line and 47.6% from the field. South Georgia State hit 60% of their three-point attempts and 48.5% of their shots.
The Jets are now 2 – 8 and 5 – 18 overall and in seventh place in the GCAA. South Georgia State College is 8 – 1 and 19 – 4. They are second behind the top-ranked Georgia Highlands Chargers who are 8 – 0 and 14 – 8.
Sophomore guard Aaron Pitts scored 11 of his points in the first half. He ended the night with 38 points which was a career high for him at SGTC. He also had four rebounds, six assists, two blocked shots and four steals. Sophomore Nathan Wilson was the only other Jet in double-digits with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He also had four blocked shots.
Bryce Turner added seven points before fouling out in regulation play. Tim Loud, Jordan Brown and Ryan Djoussa each contributed six points and Justin Evans tossed in one point to close out the scoring for the Jets.
South Georgia State had five players in double-digits. They were led by Carlos Hart and Zae Wiggins with 17 and 16 points. Kyric Davis of Americus had a total of 15 points and he was followed by Yannis Woods and Justin Edmonson with 14 and 13 points.
The Jets will travel to Griffin to face Southern Crescent Tech at 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 11th and then travel to Gordon State on Wednesday February 15th. They will host Albany Tech on Saturday, February 18th at 3 p.m. in a double-header with the Lady Jets. The Lady Jets game is at 1 p.m.
The Lady Jets play at home tonight. They host Andrew College in a rescheduled game at 5:30 and then host Central Georgia Tech on Monday, February 13th at 5:30 p.m. in another rescheduled game.