Jets and Lady Jets split with Georgia Highlands
Published 9:36 pm Monday, February 12, 2018
- Sophomore Marquel Wiggins goes up to try to score against Georgia Highlands
By Staff Reports
AMERICUS – The Lady Jets, ranked atop the GCAA standings, led by just one point at halftime, but took control in the second half defeat Georgia Highlands College 70-43. It was the opening game of the alumni/sophomore day festivities, celebrating the 70th anniversary of South Georgia Technical College.
With the win, the Lady Jets (23-5, 15-1) have clinched their third GCAA regular season conference title. Having won the regular season title, they will host the semifinals and the finals of NJCAA Division I Women’s Region XVII Tournament Friday and Saturday, March 1-2.
The Jets were not as fortunate as they dropped a hard-fought game to Georgia Highlands by the score of 82-80. The loss to Georgia Highlands drops the Jets into third place in the GCAA District standings. South Georgia Tech (15-10, 8-4) trails second-place South Georgia State (18-6, 7-3) and first-place Georgia Highlands (15-7, 9-1).
As far as the Lady Jets were concerned, head coach James Frey was pleased with his team’s second-half performance. “I thought we played a lot better in the second half than we did in the first”, Frey said. “You have to give it to Brandon Harrell’s team. They came out and gave us all we wanted in the first half. Then we made some adjustments and were able to come back in the second half and shut down their offense.” The Lady Jets only gave up 17 points in the second half, while scoring 43.
Sophomore forward Esther Adenike stepped up her game on Sophomore Day, leading the Lady Jets with 14 points and seven rebounds. Freshman forward Ricka Jackson scored 13 points and had five rebounds. Sophomore guard Dakota was also in double-figures, scoring 11 points and grabbing five rebounds. Sophomore Houlfat Mahouchiza chipped in 10 points in the winning cause.
Sophomore Esther Adenike goes up to score against Georgia Highlands.
Photo by SGT
After the women’s game, the Jets and Lady Jets recognized their sophomore players and managers. Fourteen individuals were recognized with plaques: six Jets players, seven Lady Jets players and one manager. The Lady Jets recognized Dakota Toney, Kayla Holmes, Esther Adenike, Houlfat Mahouchiza, Kanna Suzuki, Secret Ethridge and Davesha Murray.
The Jets recognized Mike Boone, Emeshuan Offord, DeVante Foster, Rico Simmons, Marquel Wiggins, Dawan Bass and the manager, Wayne Bell.
The first half of the men’s game was a hard-fought half, with the Jets up 40-38 at halftime. However, Georgia Highlands found a way down the stretch to edge out the Jets 82-80.
Sophomores Rico Simmons and Marquel Wiggins each scored 19 points to lead the Jets. Wiggins had a double-double, as he pulled down 12 rebounds on the day. Sophomore Mike Boone was also in double-figures, scoring 18 points.
The loss drops the Jets from second to third place in the GCAA standings. As long as they finish in the top four spots of the GCAA standings by the end of the regular season, they will host a first-round playoff game. The men’s quarter-finals will begin on March 6th, with the semi-final and final round to be played at the top-ranked seed’s home court on March 9th and 10th.
Both the Jets and Lady Jets will be home Wednesday, February 14th, against Atlanta Metropolitan College. Tip-off for the Lady Jets’ game is at 5:30 p.m., followed by the Jets at 7:30 p.m.
