Jets Fall to Middle Georgia Prep in 2OT Pre-Season Thriller
The South Georgia Tech Jets finished up their preseason schedule in the Hangar on Monday night, falling to the Middle Georgia Prep (MGP) Lions by one in a 2OT thriller.
The Jets jumped out to an early lead in front of an eager home crowd, leading by a game-high 11 points in the first half. Despite the home energy however, MGP rallied back to take a 42-40 lead into halftime.
Coming back from the half, the Jets looked to take a commanding lead, but wound up in neck-and-neck dual for the final 15 minutes of regulation. During the game, the teams shared nine lead changes and tied the game 15 times – two of which came with seconds left to take the game into overtime. In the final seconds of regulation, freshman guard Toriano Lewis from Richmond, Virginia, made one of his two freethrows to tie the game at 77 and send the game to overtime.
The heroics came in to play again with seconds left in overtime, when another newcomer, Jaylan McKinney from Swainsboro, hit a 3-pointer to tie the game again at 89 and send the game into 2OT. At the end of the extra three minutes on the clock however, the Lions outscored the Jets 95-94 to win.
CONTRIBUTORS
Freshman wing forward Jeremy Johnson of Orlando, Florida, who was promoted from his red-shirt title just hours before the game, led the team in scoring with 17 points off the bench. Johnson was 7-for-10 from the field, with one 3-pointer and two free throws on offense, and also came away with the team-best five defensive rebounds.
The 5-foot-8 McKinney, who tied the game to send it into 2OT, also contributed with 14 points off the bench, two offensive and three defensive rebounds. McKinney went 6-for-12 from the field, with two of his shots coming from behind the 3-point line.
Other contributors of more than 10 points included freshman guard Nick Cummings from Eastman (13 points off the bench, 5-for-10, six rebounds), returning player Durand Green from Brunswick (11 points, 4-for-8 from the field) and freshman guard Lamine Conte from Paris, France (11 points, 5-for-10, 6 rebounds).
Other Jets who put points on the board included freshman Justin Johnson (8 points), 7-foot returner Sam Matice (6 points), freshman Dijon Brown (5 points), freshman DJ Fisher (5 points off the bench), freshman Toriano Lewis (2 points off the bench), freshman Kelvin Simion (1 point off the bench) and Brice Paster (1 point off the bench).
ANALYSIS
The Jets played for the entire 38 minutes of the extended game, not once giving up and often fighting back. On the night, the Jets went 31-of-61 from the field (50.8 percent), 13-of-29 from behind the 3-point line (44.8 percent) and hit 19 of their 35 free throws (54.3 percent).
The team will travel to Roane State in Harriman, Tennessee on Nov. 2 to open up their regular-season play in the Roane State Classic. Following a four-game roadstand, the Jets will return to the Hangar on Nov. 16 to host USC Salkahatchie and Tallahassee Community College in the Jets Classic.