Jets defeat South Georgia State in last 2016 – 2017 regular season game

March 6, 2017
Jalen Thomas, 10, led the Jets in scoring in their last regular season game with 23 points.

Freshman Jalen Thomas and sophomore guard Pat Welch teamed up to score 44 points and lead the South Georgia Technical College Jets to an impressive 83 – 78 victory over the South Georgia State Hawks recently in the Jets last regular season game for the 2016 – 2017 season.
The Jets finished the season in seventh place with a 5 – 11 conference record and an 11 – 19 overall record. The Jets earned a spot in the NJCAA Region XVII first round tournament which begins Tuesday, March 7th, at 7:30 p.m. They will travel to Barnesville to take on Gordon College, which is in second place with a 12 – 4 conference record and a 22 – 8 overall record.
“It is always good to finish the season on a positive note and we did just that by winning our last three games,” said South Georgia Technical College Jets head coach Travis Garrett. “We have momentum going into our quarterfinal game against Gordon College. The best thing about the tournament is that everyone is 0 – 0. If you win, you advance. If not, your season is over.”
South Georgia Tech lost twice to Gordon College in the regular season in 78 – 61 and 75 – 63 decisions, but Coach Garrett said that may be an advantage now. “Teams that have had success up to this point might be on edge a little,” explained Garrett. “However, we will be relaxed, focus and ready to play on Tuesday! I hope we have some fans that will come up and cheer us on!”
Freshman guard Jalen Thomas led the Jets in scoring against South Georgia State with 23 points and four rebounds. Sophomore guard Pat Welch was close behind with 21 points and two rebounds. They were the only two Jets in double-figures. Freshman Mike Boone added nine points, Bobby Jackson tossed in eight points and Andrew Kennedy came up with seven points. Jordan Bates tossed in six points, Davion Clark had four, Tre’Von Teague accounted for three points, and then Derrick Traywick and Marquel Wiggins both closed out the scoring with one point.
The winner Tuesday night will advance to the semi-final round. Georgia Highlands is currently ranked number one. If they defeat the winner of the East Georgia – Atlanta Metro game on Tuesday, they will host the remainder of the tournament. The highest seeded team after Tuesday hosts the semi-finals and finals.
In other NJCAA Region XVII first round games, Central Georgia Tech will host Albany Tech and Chattahoochee Tech will host South Georgia State. The top four winners will advance to the semi-finals on Friday at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. The finals will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday.