CUTHBERT —  The South Georgia technical College Jets and Lady Jets both retained their top ranking in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) Division I conference standings after they defeated the Andrew College Tigers and Lady Tigers recently in Cuthbert. The Lady Jets opened the double-header with a 69 – 50 victory and then the Jets escaped with an 83 – 80 decision over the Tigers.
The nationally-ranked South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets are the only undefeated women’s team in the GCAA with an 8 – 0 record and they are seeded in the top spot. They are also 16 – 3 on the season with two of their losses coming from other nationally ranked teams.
The Jets are currently 3 – 0 in the GCAA Division I conference ahead of Gordon College and Georgia Highlands. These are the only three undefeated teams in conference play at this time. The Jets are also 10 – 6 overall and have won their last four consecutive games.
Neither win was pretty as the two South Georgia Technical College basketball teams came out sluggish. The Lady jets went up 20 – 13 at the end of the first half and widened that game to 40 – 29 at the half. The two teams remained about equal in scoring during the second half and the Lady Jets wound up with the 69 – 50 victory.
Houlfat Mahouchiza was the top scorer for the Lady Jets with 14 points. Alyssa Nieves was the only other Lady Jet in double-digits. She came off the bench to score 12 points. Houlfat Mahouchiza also had six rebounds, one steal and two blocked shots. Alyssa Nieves had three rebounds and one assist.
Dakota Toney, Ricka Jackson and Sceret Ethridge all came away with eight points each; Esther Adenike added six points; Aubry Maulden tossed in five, and Bigue Sarr had four points. Kayla Holmes and Fatou Pouye accounted for two points each.
In the Jets game, Andrew College jumped out to a 43 – 41 lead at the end of the first half, but the Jets battled back in the second half to outscore the Tiers 42 – 37 to secure the 83 – 80 victory over the first-year team. This is the first time in 14-years that Andrew has fielded a men’s basketball Division I squad.
Sophomore forward Marquel Wiggins from Oglethorpe led the Jets with 20 points, 13 rebounds, two steals and three blocked shots on the night. Monte Greene had a good game with 15 points and four assists and then Dawan Bass scored 14 points and had six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Adonis Green closed out the double-digit scoring with 10 points.
Sophomore guard Rico Simmons ended up with only nine points, two rebounds, six assists, and two steals. DeVante Foster came up with seven points and then Durand Green, Emshuan Offord, Dominique Walker and Nemanja Jovanovic each tossed in two points.
The Jets and Lady Jets will travel to Rome on Wednesday for a double-header against Georgia Highlands. The Georgia Highlands team coached by former SGTC coach Brandan Harrell is currently in second place in the Division I conference standings and the Georgia Highlands men are tied for second place in the conference. They are one of the three unbeaten teams in the men’s bracket. Tip-off for the women’s game is 5:30 followed by the 7:30 men’s game.
South Georgia Tech will travel to Atlanta to face Atlanta Metro in a conference double-header on Saturday, Jan. 13. The women will travel to Waycross to face South Georgia State College on Jan. 20 while the men will travel to Hanceville, Ala., on Jan. 18 to face Wallace-Hanceville College and then to Macon to take on Central Georgia Technical College on Jan. 20.