Jets advance to NJCAA Region XVII semi-finals; face Georgia Highlands
![Sophomore guard Mike Boone (5) led the Jets in scoring with 19 points in their first round win in the NJCAA Region XVII tournament.](https://www.southgatech.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Mike_Boone_driving-3-18.jpg)
The fourth-ranked South Georgia Technical College Jets came away with an impressive 91 – 69 victory over the fifth-seeded East Georgia State College Bobcats in the first round of the NJCAA Region XVII Division I men’s basketball tournament at the Hangar on the South Georgia Technical College Americus campus Tuesday night. That win allows the Jets to advance to the semi-final round where they will take on the top ranked Georgia Highlands squad in Rome, GA on Friday, March 10th at 7:30 p.m. The winner of that game will advance to the finals on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Rome, GA.
Each of the top four Division I men’s team in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) conference won in the quarter-final round of the tournament. The top-ranked Georgia Highlands Chargers defeated eighth-seeded Andrew College 91- 76. The second-ranked Central Georgia Tech Titans took a 76 – 54 in over the seventh place Albany Tech Titans and the number three South Georgia State College team came out on top against sixth place Gordon State College in a 114 – 105 shootout.
“Survive and advance. That is the name of the game this time of year,” said South Georgia Technical College Jets head basketball coach Travis Garrett. “Our guys did a good job of taking care of business against East Georgia State College, but now we have to rise to the occasion to keep the season alive. It will be tough to beat the top-ranked Georgia Highlands Chargers on their home court Friday night, but if we play well, this group of guys can pull it off.”
The Jets lost to Georgia Highlands 82 – 80 in Americus on February 10th and lost 87 – 82 to the Chargers in Rome on January 10th. “We can beat Georgia Highlands, but we have to play. They are not going to give us anything. We will have to earn it,” said Coach Garrett. The winner of the Jets – Chargers match-up will face the winner of the South Georgia State – Central Georgia Tech game at 3 p.m. Saturday in Rome.
The South Georgia Technical College Jets shot 62.1% from the field in the second half against East Georgia Tuesday night and hit 57.1% of their three point shots that half. On the night, they were still shooting above 50% from the floor and the three-point line.
Five of the Jets were in double-figures with sophomore guard Mike Boone leading the scoring with 19 points. He also pulled down three rebounds and had one assist. Sophomore guard Dawan Bass tossed in 14 points and had three rebounds and two assists. Sophomores Rico Simmons and Marquel Wiggins both added 12 points. Wiggins also accounted for nine rebounds. Simmons had three rebounds and three assists. DeVante Foster, a sophomore forward, closed out the double-digit scoring for the Jets with 11 points and 14 rebounds. He was the only Jet with a double-double in the tournament game.
Adonis Green, a freshman forward, scored nine points and freshman Isaac LeCompte added eight points. Emeshuan Offord closed out the scoring with six points.
The Jets are now 19 – 11 overall and finished the regular season in fourth place with an 11 – 5 conference record. Last season the Jets were seventh in the regular season but finished as the NJCAA Region XVII Conference runner-ups. Coach Garrett is hoping his team can improve on that performance by upsetting Georgia Highlands in the semi-final game on Friday at 7:30 p.m.