Jets fall to East Georgia Bobcats in conference match-up

January 24, 2023
Aaron Pitts, 4, was the top scorer for the Jets in the 83 – 70 loss to East Georgia. Pitts had 18 points.
Aaron Pitts, 4, was the top scorer for the Jets in the 83 – 70 loss to East Georgia. Pitts had 18 points.

   Former South Georgia Technical College Jets head coach Travis Garrett and his East Georgia State College Bobcats took an 83 – 70 Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) conference decision over current Jets head coach Chris Ballauer and the South Georgia Technical College Jets in the Hangar Monday night.

 The Jets fell to seventh place in the GCAA with a 2 – 4 record and are now 5 – 14 on the season. East Georgia State climbed into sixth place and moved to 2 – 3 and 8 – 8.  South Georgia State (4-0) and Georgia Highlands (3-0) are the only two undefeated teams in the conference and they are in first and second place. Andrew College is third at 3 – 1, Gordon is fourth with a 3 – 2 record and they are followed by Central Georgia Tech, East Georgia, South Georgia Tech, Albany Tech and Southern Crescent Technical College.  

   The Jets scored first in the match-up between former and current head coaches but after the first 10-minutes East Georgia State took control and never looked back.  During the first 10-minutes, there were three lead changes and three ties.  The half ended with East Georgia leading 36 – 25.

   The second half saw the Jets fall behind by as many as 22 points before they begin to chip away at that deficit.  They pulled within 12 points at one point in the second half but East Georgia wound up with the 83 – 70 victory.

   “We are struggling,” said South Georgia Technical College Jets head coach Chris Ballauer.  “I only have seven healthy guys right now and it shows.”  The Jets played nine players Monday and two of those nine ended the game with four fouls each and two more were injured or reinjured.

   Sophomore forward Aaron Pitts was a bright spot for the Jets with a total of 18 points, four rebounds, and two assists.  Sophomore guard Kallin Fonseca accounted for 14 points.  He was four of six from the three-point line.  He also had one rebound, one assist and one steal.

   Freshman Deonta Williams was the only other Jet in double-figures and he walked away with 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.  Tim Loud and Bryce Turner both came up with eight points and Justin Evans added seven.  Ryan Djoussa was the only other scorer for the Jets with two points.            

   The Jets are hoping to end the two-game conference losing streak on Saturday when they travel to Rome to take on top-ranked Georgia Highlands at 4 p.m.  They will return home on Wednesday, February 1st for a double-header.  The Lady Jets open that doubleheader at home at 5:30 p.m. against Central Georgia Technical College followed by a 7:30 game featuring the Jets and Andrew College.

   The Lady Jets will travel to Denmark Tech on Wednesday, January 25th for a 4 p.m. game and then head to East Georgia on Saturday for a 1 p.m. match-up to end a two-week road trip and return to play Central Georgia Tech at home on February 1st.