The South Georgia Technical College Jets and Lady Jets took two very important Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) conference wins over Central Georgia Technical College Saturday when the Jets came away with a narrow 77 – 74 victory over the Central Georgia Tech Titans and the Lady Jets rolled to a 70 – 56 win over the Lady Titans in the Hangar in Americus.
“This was a big win for our program,” said South Georgia Technical College Jets head coach Travis Garrett. “We needed this after we lost a close one to Central Georgia Tech in Macon. I am very proud of this team and the way they stayed focused until the final buzzer.”
Freshman guard Justin Johnson sank two free throws with 13.6 seconds left in the game to lift the Jets to the 77 – 74 victory over Central Georgia Tech. The Titans’ loss dropped them into a three-way tie for second place with South Georgia Tech and Gordon College. Each of the three schools are 6 – 3 in the conference. Central Georgia Tech is now 16 – 5 overall, Gordon is 12 – 9 and South Georgia Tech is 10 – 13. Georgia Highlands is currently in first place in the GCAA Division I men’s standings at 7 – 2.
Justin Johnson was the leading scorer for the Jets with a total of 27 points. Twenty-one of those came in the second half when Central Georgia Tech outscored South Georgia Tech 40 – 35 to try and come back from a 42 – 34 first half deficit. Johnson also had seven rebounds.
Freshman forward Jeremy Johnson and freshman guard Toriano Lewis also scored in double-figures for the Jets. Jeremy Johnson came off the bench to score 13 points and pull down four rebounds. Toriano Lewis was the only other Jet in double-digits and he had 12 points, all of which came in the first half.
Brice Paster contributed eight points for the Jets, Nick Cummings had seven, DJ Fisher and Adonis Green accounted for four points and Sam Matice closed out the scoring with two points.
Before the Jets posted their big conference win, the Lady Jets were able to take a 70 – 56 win over the third place Central Georgia Technical College Lady Titans. The Lady Jets continued to struggle in the first half. They were up 17 – 16 at the end of the first quarter and had only stretched that lead to 36 – 32 at the end of the first half.
However, the Lady Jets came out strong in the second half and were up by as many as 22 points in a game that had eight lead changes and two ties. Sophomore forward Ricka Jackson led her team in scoring with 15 points and she was followed by sophomore guard Alyssa Nieves who added 14 points. Jackson also pulled down six rebounds and had five assists. Nieves had five rebounds and two assists.
Sophomore Bigue Sarr came up with 11 points in that game and had seven rebounds. Other Lady Jets who scored included: Fatou Pouye, 9; Mari Hill, 6; Kamya Hollingshed and Amar Edeh with 4 each; Laky Samo, 3; and Yasriyyah Wazeerud-Din and Anna McKendree had two each.
The nationally ranked Lady Jets remained at the top of the GCAA Division I standings with a 13 – 0 record and they are 21 – 3 overall. Georgia Highlands is in second place with a 12 – 1 record. Their only conference loss is to SGTC. Central Georgia Tech is currently third with an 8 – 5 record.
The two South Georgia Technical College basketball teams travel to Cuthbert on Wednesday to take on another conference foe, Andrew College. The Lady Jets face Andrew’s women at 5:30. Andrew is currently 4 – 10 and fifth in the conference.
The Jets game will follow at 7:30 p.m. South Georgia Tech is in a three way tie for second place and Andrew is one game shy of sharing that position. They are 5 – 3 in the conference. Andrew’s men defeated South Georgia Tech earlier in the season 86 – 71. They also defeated Georgia Highlands 68 – 62 and are on a three-game winning streak.
Following the game against Andrew, the SGTC Jets and Lady Jets travel to Rome to take on Georgia Highlands in a conference double-header on Saturday, Feb. 9th. The Lady Jets play at 2 p.m. and the Jets play at 4 p.m. The Lady Jets added a non-conference game to their schedule on February 12th at 5:30 and then the Jets and Lady Jets will host Southern Crescent in a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 16th at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
The South Georgia Tech Sophomore/Alumni Day activities will be held on Saturday, February 23rd. An alumni game will kick off the day at 10 a.m. followed by a lunch by the Chamber of Commerce and the ball games at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. against Albany Tech. All alumni are urged to come out and support the Jets and Lady Jets.
