Marianna, FL – The South Georgia Technical College Jets and Lady Jets both opened the 2025 -2026 basketball seasons with impressive wins over the weekend. The Jets took a 78 -76 overtime win over Chipola College on Halloween night in Marianna, Florida in the Chipola Classic before dropping an 88 – 81 decision to Tallahassee State College on Saturday. The Lady Jets also were on the road and came away with a 73 – 61 win over Cleveland State Community College in Cleveland, TN.
The Jets are 1 – 1 on the season and the Lady Jets are 1 – 0. The first home game of the young season will be held Wednesday, November 5th at 7 p.m. when the Jets have a rematch with Tallahassee State College in the James S. Peters gymnasium in Americus.
“We will take the win, but we have a lot to improve on,” said SGTC Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach Jason Carpenter, after his team won. “The good news is, I’ve got a great group and I fully expect that we will.”
SGTC Jets head coach Chris Ballauer was also pleased with the win but saw room for improvement. “I am proud of the team,” said Ballauer. “The guys played extremely hard this past weekend. Learning how to handle success and being fully locked into the next game is very important. I am excited to play Tallahassee again on Wednesday night. They are a super talented and well coached team. I fully expect our guys to be ready for the game.”
In the Jets season opener, the Jets had to overcome a 35 – 31 deficit at the half to tie the game at 69 – 69 at the end of regulation and force the game into overtime. The Jets outscored Chipola 7 – 5 in overtime to take the 78 – 76 victory over Chipola on their home court.
Clark Mastin, a freshman guard from Conyers, and Dwight Brown, a sophomore from Conyers, tied for the top scoring honors for the Jets with 17 points each. They were also the only two Jets in double-digits. Jarius Davis, a freshman from Greensboro, NC, and Matt Mbole, a sophomore from Cameroon, both added nine points each. Mbole led the team in rebounds with 11.
Mark Ferdy, a sophomore transfer from Grayson College, came off the bench to toss in eight points. Jalexs Ewing, a sophomore guard from Augusta, contributed seven points. Guillaume Schoentgen, a freshman from Germany, had five points on the night, Marcellus Myles, a freshman from Thomaston, came away with four, and sophomore Ilitch Yacaman, a sophomore from Orlando, closed out the scoring with two points.
In the match-up against Tallahassee State College, Marcellus Myles, a freshman from Thomaston, GA; came off the bench to led the Jets in scoring with 19 points. Sophomores Jalex Ewing and Ilich Yacaman followed up with 14 points each and then Dwight Brown closed out the double digit scoring with 12 points in the 88 – 81 loss.
The Jets were down 41 – 30 at the end of the first half but rallied to cut that deficit to seven points by the final buzzer. Starters Clark Mastin and Jarius Davis had seven points each, Matt Mbole accounted for four points, Marc Ferdy had three, and Guillaume Schoentgen had one point. Matt Mbole and Marc Ferdy both had nine rebounds on the night to lead the team.
The Jets are 1 – 1 on the season. Central Georgia Tech, Georgia Highlands, and Gordon College from the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) are currently 1 – 0 after kicking off their season while East Georgia, Albany Tech, Andrew College, South Crescent Tech and South Georgia State are all looking for their first victory.
The Lady Jets moved to 1 – 0 on the season after securing a 73 – 61 victory over Cleveland State Community College in Cleveland, TN. This was the first of a six-game road trip in November for the Lady Jets. They will face Pellissippi State Community College, November 4th in Knoxville, TN before traveling to St. Petersburg for the St. Petersburg Classic where they face Hillsborough Community College and St. Petersburg on November 7 and 8th and then Eastern Florida State College and Dayton State College on November 21 – 22 in Melbourne, FL.
It was good to open the season with a win but the Lady Jets struggled in the second and third quarters before finally outscoring Cleveland 19 – 8 to secure the 73 – 61 victory. The Lady Jets were up 15 – 12 in the first quarter and both teams scored 18 points in the second quarter. The Lady Jets were up 33 – 30 at the end of the first half. Cleveland State cut that to one point after outscoring the Lady Jets 23 – 21 in the third quarter.
A strong fourth quarter rally by the Lady Jets allowed them to secure their first win of the season, 73 – 61. Ja’Niya Broome, a freshman from Harris County, led the Lady Jets in scoring with 20 points. She was followed by Taja Bennett, a sophomore from Dallas, Texas; and Jaidyn Elam, a sophomore transfer from Oakland University, who both contributed 17 points on the night.
Starter Jada Jones, a sophomore transfer from Odessa College, accounted for eight points, Sarah Mellouk, a freshman from Marseille, France; had six points and Candice Ganga, a freshman from Paris, France; closed out the scoring with five points.
In the GCAA league, the Lady Jets and Central Georgia Tech are both 1 – 0 on the young season against non-conference opponents. Albany Tech is 1 – 1 and East Georgia, Andrew College and Southern Crescent Tech are all still seeking their first win. The conference season will begin in January.
The Jets will host Tallahassee State College in the first home game of the season on Wednesday, November 5 at 7 p.m. and then travel to Booneville, MS for the Northeast Mississippi Classic on November 6 and 7. They will play East Mississippi on Thursday, November 6 and Northeast Mississippi on November 7. They will travel back to Florida to the Eastern Florida Classic on November 14 and 15 to play Indian River and Eastern Florida State.
The Jets will return home on November 19 to host Chipola College at 7 p.m. and then gear up for the Sparky Reeves Classic on November 21 and 22. The Jets host Northeast Mississippi at 7 p.m. on November 21 and Eastern Florida State College on November 22 at 3 p.m. The Lady Jets will play at home on November 28 and 29 in the Pet Arrington Thanksgiving Classic. They face Florida Southwestern State at 8 p.m. and Motlow State Community College at 7 p.m. on November 29.