Jets defeat Chattahoochee Tech in GCAA battle

January 25, 2017
SGTC’s Jalen Thomas (10) is shown above going up for a layup against Chattahoochee Tech’s Jalen Mitchell (14) who played with the Jets last season.

“Heart attack!” Those were the two words that South Georgia Technical College Jets head coach Travis Garrett used to describe his emotions after the Jets’ narrow 75 – 71 Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association victory over Chattahoochee Technical College Tuesday.
“We made it exciting. We pulled ahead by 19 points early, but they came back and erased that lead and almost ended up winning,” said Coach Garrett. “We have got to play more consistent and play with intensity for the entire 40-minutes. When we do that, we will be capable of playing and beating anybody.”
The Jets moved to 3 – 3 in the GCAA and into fourth place behind Georgia Highlands, Central Georgia Tech and South Georgia State College teams. The Jets are 9 – 11 overall on the season.
South Georgia Tech scored first in the match-up with Chattahoochee Tech and even though the Golden Eagles did tie the game early in the first half, the Jets pulled ahead by 19 points and were still up 44 – 32 at the end of the first half.
Chattahoochee Tech came back in the second half and continued to close the gap. They were down 72 – 71 with 3:32 left in the game. South Georgia Tech held Chattahoochee scoreless for the last three minutes and 32 seconds but the Jets only managed to score three points in that same period to take the 75 – 71 victory.
Jalen Thomas, a freshman guard from Columbus, continued to lead the Jets in scoring. He had a total of 23 points, six rebounds, and five steals on the night. He was seven of 16 from the field, hit two of six three point shots and sank seven of 10 free throws.
Patrick Welch, a sophomore guard from Pembroke, NH, and Mike Boone, a freshman guard from Charlotte, NC both added 11 points and then Ed Jones, a sophomore from Fairburn, GA added 10 points.
The Jets will take to the road for the next two weeks. The Jets and the Lady Jets both have four back-to-back road trips. The Jets and Lady Jets head to Atlanta on Saturday, January 28th to play Atlanta Metro at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. The Jets head to South Georgia State College in Waycross on Feb. 1st while the Lady Jets travel to Cuthbert to face Andrew College that same night.
The two will then travel to Macon for a matchup with Central Georgia Tech on Saturday, February 4th in a conference double-header. The Lady Jets open at 2 p.m. and the men follow at 4 p.m. The two teams will travel to Marietta on February 8th for a double-header against Chattahoochee Tech at 5:30 and 7:30.
After those four back to back road games, the Jets and Lady Jets return home to host Georgia Highlands on Saturday, February 11th at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.