Fourth seeded South Georgia Tech Jets upset Georgia Highlands in Region XVII semi-finals

Rome, GA – The fourth-seeded South Georgia Technical College Jets denied the Georgia College Athletic Association (GCAA) champion Georgia Highlands State College Chargers the opportunity to compete for their fourth consecutive National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XVII Division I men’s basketball championship when they overcame a first half 20-point deficit to secure a 103 – 99 victory in Rome, Friday in the semi-final match-up.
The SGTC Jets will face off against the Central Georgia Technical College Titans from Macon in the finals in the Georgia Highlands College gymnasium at 3 p.m. Saturday for the opportunity to advance to the NJCAA National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas, March 19th – 24th. Central Georgia Tech defeated South Georgia State College from Waycross in the first semi-final game, 91 – 85.
“This was an unbelievable game,” said South Georgia Technical College Jets head coach Travis Garrett after his team came from behind to beat Georgia Highlands for the first time this season. “I knew we could we win and I am so proud of these guys for the way they played tonight. They never gave up and it paid off.”
The Jets started off slowly and it looked like Georgia Highlands was going to run away with the win, especially after they built a 20-point lead with 8:43 left in the first half. South Georgia Tech battled back and only trailed 62 – 48 at the end of the first half. Georgia Highlands shot 52.6% from the three-point line in the first half and hit 10 of 19 attempts. South Georgia Tech was only 5 – 14 for 35.7% success. Georgia Highland actually made 60% of their shots in the first 20-minutes to the Jets 38.5%. The Jets were 15 – 39 and Georgia Highlands was 21 – 35.
But the tide began to turn in the second half when sophomore guard Rico Simmons from Wilkinson County and sophomore forward Marquel Wiggins from Macon County took charge and led their team in an amazing come-back victory. The Jets overcame the 14-point half-time deficit and were only down 68-65 with 12:25 remaining. SGTC and Georgia Highlands were tied three times in the 40-minute period and the lead changed four times.
South Georgia Technical College and Georgia Highlands were tied at 73-73 with 10:29 remaining. About two minutes later it looked like the Jets comeback would fall short when sophomore forward Marquel Wiggins took an elbow to the head and went down. The Jets were behind 78 – 79 when Wiggins fell to the floor. He finally walked off the court but was unable to come back and contribute.
Georgia Highlands took advantage of the loss and were up 90 – 85 with 4:28 minutes left. Many of the Jets including guard Rico Simmons were playing with four fouls. Simmons fouled out in the final minutes with the score tied 92 – 92. Sophomores Dawan Bass, Mike Boone, and Emshuan Offord stepped up and the Jets pulled ahead by seven points with 31 seconds left based on a three-pointer by Offord and strong free throw shooting. The Jets held on and took the 103 – 99 upset victory.
Sophomore guard Rico Simmons was the top scorer for the Jets with 27 points. Seventeen of those were in the second half. Sophmore Marquel Wiggins was close behind with 25 points, 11 in the second half. He also led the team in rebounds with 12. He was 11 of 12 from the free throw line and Simmons was 6 of 6.
Mike Boone finished the game with 13 points, nine of which came in the first half. Another sophomore Dawan Bass added 12 points and eight rebounds before he fouled out in the final minutes. The lone freshman starter on the night, Adonis Greene closed out the double digit scoring with 11 points.
Emshuan Offord had the bucket of the night to put the game out of reach in the final seconds. He finished with eight points. Freshman Durand Green came off the bench and added six points including an important free throw in the final seconds. Malik Wilson closed out the scoring with one point.
“This was a big win and I am proud of the way the guys did not give up,” said Coach Garrett. “But now we have to come back and face a very tough Central Georgia Tech team in the finals. The name of the game now is survive and advance, or lose and go home. We want to go to the next level.”
The Jet finished the NJCAA Region XVII tournament in second place last season with a loss to Georgia Highlands. South Georgia Tech has the opportunity to finish in first place and advance to the NJCAA national tournament under Coach Garrett. The Jets have been twice in the past nine years.
JockJive.com will broadcast the game live on the internet and they will also feature the Lady Jets game against Spartanburg Methodist at 2 p.m. in Spartanburg, South Carolina in the NJCAA District J championship. South Georgia Tech has the opportunity to send both the men’s and women’s basketball teams to the NJCAA Division I national tournament with wins this weekend.