Jets close out non-conference part of season at 1 – 13

January 6, 2025
Hendrens Bartelus, 1, was the top scorer for the Jets in their loss to Chipola. He was also one of the leading scorers in the loss to Northwest Florida State College.

The South Georgia Technical College Jets continued to struggle in the opening part of the 2024 – 2025 basketball season in a very difficult non-conference schedule that saw them lose to the 13th nationally ranked Northwest Florida State College in a tournament in Florida and then to the 14th ranked Chipola College Indians over the weekend in the hangar. The Jets fell to 1 – 13 following their ninth consecutive loss this season.
The Jets came within six points of upsetting Northwest Florida State College in a New Year’s Eve match-up in Florida in a 63 – 69 decision and then lost by 10 points in a 68 – 58 decision to the 14th ranked Chipola College Indians in the Hangar.
It has been a tough season but SGTC head coach Chris Ballauer is hoping to turn things around when he travels to Macon, January 8th for a Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) conference match-up with Central Georgia Tech at 7:30 p.m. The Lady Jets open at 5:30 p.m. as part of a double-header.
Northwest Florida State was up 33 – 30 at the end of the first half against SGTC and then stretched their lead to 69 – 63 by the final buzzer. Three Jets, Hendrens Bartelus, a freshman from Lake Worth, FL; Vaughn Prosser, a sophomore from Australia; and Matija Vucic, a freshman from Serbia, were the top scorers in that match-up with 15 points each. Aiden Fitzgerald, a freshman from Australia, was the only other Jet in double-figures with 10 points.
Following that loss, the Jets hosted Chipola on Saturday and came up short again 68 – 58 to the nationally ranked Indians. Hendrens Bartelus was the top scorer again with 14 points and led the team in rebounds with 14 for a double-double night. Aiden Fitzgerald followed up with 12 points an Matija Vucic closed out the double-digit scoring with 10 points.
The Jets are hoping to snap that losing streak Wednesday, January 8th when they travel to Macon for their first conference match-up against Central Georgia Tech. They will return home on Wednesday, January 15th to host South Georgia State College at 7:30 p.m. at part of a a double-header with the Lady Jets hosting Central Georgia Tech at 5:30 p.m. They will be at home again on Saturday, January 18th for a double-header against East Georgia State. The Lady Jets open at 1 p.m. followed by the Jets at 3 p.m.