Jets and Lady Jets remain unbeaten in GCAA Conference

Sophomore guard Rico Simmons from Wilkinson County scored 17 of his 24 points in the last eight minutes to lift the South Georgia Technical College Jets to a 94 – 84 overtime victory over Central Georgia Technical College to remain unbeaten and in first place in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) conference recently. The Lady Jets also retained their first place and unbeaten status in the GCAA with a 78 – 48 victory over the Central Georgia Tech Lady Titans in the first half of that double-header.
“We did what we had to do to win,” said South Georgia Technical College Jets head coach Travis Garrett after the Jets overcame an 11-point deficit with three minutes left in regulation play to tie the game 80 – 80 and then take the 94 – 84 win after a five-minute overtime play. “It was good to win but it was not pretty. We made too many errors and turnovers at crucial points in the game but we were able to overcome and walk away with a victory,” said Garrett.
The Jets played in spurts. They got down by as many as eight points in the first half before rallying to go up 37 – 32 at the end of the first 20-minutes of play against the third-ranked Central Georgia Tech team coached by former Jets assistant coach Rico Dawson. There were nine different lead changes and nine ties during the 45-minute overtime contest. Not a single Jet was in double-digit scoring at the end of the first half but four players wound up scoring 10 points or more and two scored 23 points or more.
Sophomore point guard Rico Simmons wound up as the leading scorer for the Jets with 24 points. He was 11 of 13 from the foul line, and 11 of 11 during the last eight minutes. He only hit one three-point shot. He also had six rebounds, and seven assists in the Jets first conference game of 2018.
Sophomore guard Dawan Bass from Baltimore, MD, also had a good night with 23 points. He scored most of his points in the second half and during the over-time period. He had six points at the end of the first half and came on strong in the second half with another 17 points to help secure the win for the Jets. He also had six rebounds and one assist in that game.
The other two Jets in double-figures were sophomore forward Marquel Wiggins from Macon County. He had a total of 12 points and two rebounds. Durand Green, a freshman guard from Brunswick closed out the double-digit scoring with 10 points, four rebounds, and one assist.
Sam Matice, a freshman forward from Canada, tossed in six points, Adonis Greene, a freshman forward from Stockbridge, GA, had five points, and Malik Wilson and Da’monte Green both accounted for four points each. DeVante Foster and Emeshuan Offord closed out the scoring with three points each.
The Jets are now 2 – 0 and remain in first place in the GCAA and 9 – 6 overall. While the Jets game provided the most excitement of the night, the Lady Jets took care of business as well by remaining unbeaten and in first place in the GCAA with a 78 – 48 win over the fourth place Central Georgia Tech Lady Titans from Macon, GA.
The Lady Jets also struggled in the first half after the holiday break. They were only up 34 – 27 at the half but then two balanced quarters of scoring 22 points each during the second half allowed them to pull ahead 78 – 48. The Lady Jets defense held Central Georgia Tech to 11 and 10 points in the third and fourth quarters.
Freshman forward Bigue Sarr from Senegal led the Lady Jets in scoring. She had a total of 18 points, and seven rebounds. Sophomore forward Esther Adenike from Nigeria scored 13 points and four rebounds for the Lady Jets and then freshman forward Ricka Jackson and freshman guard Alyssa Nieves both closed out the double-digit scoring with 11 points each.
Sophomore forward Houlfat Mahouchiza from France tossed in eight points, Fatou Pouye, a freshman from Senegal added six points, Kayla Holmes scored four points, and then Cedeja James and Sceret Ethridge closed out the scoring with two points each.
The Jets and Lady Jets will travel to Cuthbert on Saturday, January 6th for a conference double-header against Andrew College. The Lady Jets open at 1 p.m. against the Andrew women who are 7 – 6 overall and 1 – 4 in the conference. The Jets play at 3 p.m. Andrew’s men are 6- 6 overall and have not played a conference game yet.
The two South Georgia Tech teams remain on the road until Wednesday, January 24th when they host Albany Technical College in a double-header. The Lady Jets face the Lady Titans at 5:30 p.m. and the Jets play the Titans at 7:30 p.m.
Prior to that home game, the Jets and Lady Jets travel to Rome on January 10th for a double-header against Georgia Highlands, then to Atlanta to face Atlanta Metro on January 13th, and to Waycross on January 20th to face South Georgia State College.

Bigue Sarr (21) led the Lady Jets in scoring with 18 points against Central Georgia Tech.