Jets and Lady Jets split GCAA conference games with Georgia Highlands College

Published 7:05 pm Monday, January 13, 2020

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From Staff Reports

ROME, GA – For the third time during conference play, the South Georgia Technical College (SGTC) Jets and Lady Jets split decisions in a Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) contest. The nationally ranked Lady Jets captured their third consecutive and ninth conference victory with an 80-62 victory over Georgia Highlands College (GHC), while the Jets dropped their third straight conference decision in a 73-66 loss to the Chargers on Saturday, January 11, at GHC.

“It is tough,” SGTC men’s head coach Travis Garrett said.  “We have lost two games by three points and lost this one by seven points. We have just got to find a way to finish strong and win.”

The Jets and the Chargers were tied at 42-42 at the half. The two teams traded leads back and forth in the second half, but the Chargers were finally able to pull ahead for good on a three-pointer to take a 60-57 lead midway through the half. GHC maintained that lead to capture the 73-66 victory.

The Lady Jets (19-2, 9-0 GCAA) took their second consecutive win over the Lady Chargers. GHC is currently in second place behind the Lady Jets with a 5-2 record. Their only conference losses this season are to SGTC.

The Lady Chargers started off strong and were up 12-9 at the end of the first quarter. They scored seven unanswered points in the second quarter to pull ahead 19-9. SGTC was scoreless until the last 5:35 minutes in the half. At that point, the Lady Jets went on a 14-3 run to retake the lead at 23-22 with 1:25 left in the second quarter. SGTC then scored five unanswered points in the final minute and a half to go up 29-24 at halftime.

The Lady Jets outscored GHC 29-19 in the third quarter and 22-19 in the fourth quarter to capture the 80-62 victory. “It is always good to get a win against Georgia Highlands, especially in their gym,” SGTC women’s head coach James Frey said. “We knew that this was an important game for our conference play and I am proud of the ladies for coming back and finishing strong. We still have to work on playing 40 full minutes if we want to continue to win against good teams.”

 

SGTC sophomore shooting guard Niya Guudelock (3) was the leading scorer for the Lady Jets against Georgia Highlands in Rome.
Photo by Su Ann Bird

Sophomore transfer guard Niya Goudelock was the top scorer for the Lady Jets with 22 points. Sophomore guard Shamari Tyson added 15 points and freshman center Femme Sikuzani scored 11. Sophomore forward Yasriyyah Wazeerud-Din closed out the double-digit scoring with 10 points. Goudelock also had five rebounds, seven assists and two steals to go with her 22 points. Tyson had five rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Sikuzani had seven rebounds, and one blocked shot before fouling out. Yasriyyah Wazeerud-Din led the team in rebounding with eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

Rounding out the scoring for the Lady Jets was Flore Ngasamputu with eight, Oumy Gueye with four, Anna McKendree with three, Moe Shida with two points and Hope Butera with one point.

The Lady Jets are currently ranked 17th in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) top 25 poll and are working toward earning their fifth trip to the national tournament in six years.

Sophomore Justin Johnson was the top scorer for the Jets in their loss with 13 points and both Toriano Lewis and Jairus Carroll each scored 11 points. Lewis was three of seven from the three-point line. None of the Jets had over four individual rebounds in that contest.

Lamont Sanders scored nine points, Jalen Reynolds had eight and both Denari Garrett and Tabais Long contributed five points. Brice Paster scored three points and Austin Hadden closed out the scoring with one point.

The Jets’ loss dropped them to 1-3 in the GCAA and 8-10 overall. They are currently in seventh place in the GCAA, while Albany Tech is a top the league standings with a 4-0 record.

Both SGTC squads will host Southern Crescent Technical College in Americus at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday, January 18. The Jets will then host South Georgia State College on Wednesday, January 22, at 7 p.m. Both teams will then host Albany Tech on Saturday, January 25, at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. in the Hangar on the SGTC Americus campus.