Jets, Lady Jets capture GCAA wins over Albany Tech

February 14, 2022
Will Johnston, 4, was the top scorer for the Jets and he is shown here hitting a three.
Will Johnston, 4, was the top scorer for the Jets and he is shown here hitting a three.

Albany, GA – The South Georgia Technical College Jets and nationally ranked Lady Jets traveled to Albany Saturday and took impressive Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) victories over the Albany Tech Titans and Lady Titans in the former Darton College gymnasium.  The Lady Jets won 73 – 49 and the Jets walked away with a 78 – 56 decision.

   Both the Jets and the Lady Jets are currently in second place in the GCAA.  The 12th ranked Lady Jets are 11 – 3 in the conference and 24 – 5 overall.  They are in second place behind the 1st place Georgia Highlands Lady Highlanders.  Albany Tech’s Lady Titans are currently in fourth place with a 6 – 9 and 10 – 12 record.  East Georgia State College is in third.

   The Jets are tied with South Georgia State College for the second-place position in the GCAA with identical 8 – 4 records.  They split decisions in their individual match-ups.  The Jets are 16 – 10 overall and South Georgia State is 19 – 7.  Georgia Highlands men are also in first place with a 10 – 1 and 17 – 8 record this season.  South Georgia Tech is the only team in the conference to upset Georgia Highlands.  The Jets won 106 – 88 in overtime.

   In the opening game, the Albany Tech Lady Titans played the Lady Jets close in the first quarter.  The Lady Jets were up 16 – 15 after the first 10 minutes.  Albany Tech was able to stay close with the Lady Jets until the final three minutes of the first half when the Lady Jets pulled ahead 29 – 19 and then went ahead 34 – 19 at the half.  Albany Tech only scored four points in the second quarter.

   The Lady Jets continued to stretch that lead in the second half and captured the GCAA conference win, 73 – 49, behind the strong three-point shooting of red-shirt sophomore Kamya Hollingshed who led the team with 17 points on the night.  She was four of nine from the three-point line.  In addition to her 17 points, she also pulled down six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

   Freshman Center Fanta Gassama was the only other Lady Jet in double-digits and she had a double-double day with 14 points and 10 rebounds.  She also contributed two assists and one blocked shot.  Three Lady Jets followed up with eight points each.  Luana Leite, Laurie Calixte, and Camryn James each came away with eight points.  Alexia Dizeko and Susana Posada both added seven points each and Alexia Dizeko also pulled down 10 rebounds.

   In the men’s game, the Jets took command early and were up 37 – 24 at the end of the first half.  They stretched that lead by outscoring Albany Tech 41 – 32 in the second half to walk away with the 78 – 56 victory.

   Four Jets were in double-figures in that match-up.  Sophomore guard Will Johnston let the way with 22 points.  He was five of seven from the three-point line.  He also managed to take down eight rebounds, eight assists and one steal.

    Marvin McGhee, III, Malik Battle, and Jalen Reynolds were the other three Jets in double-digits and they had 16, 15, and 14 respectively.  McGhee also wound up with seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.  Battle had one rebound and four assists and Jalen Reynolds led the rebounding with 12 and two blocked shots.

   Matija Milivojevic added four points and seven rebounds along with three blocked shots.  Justice Hayes came off the bench and walked away with three points followed by Bryce Turner and Nathan Wilson with two points each.

   The Jets will host Central Georgia Tech at home on February 15th at 7 p.m.   There is only one more home game for the Jets or Lady Jets after that and it is on February 23rd at 7 p.m. when the Jets host Andrew College.

   The Lady Jets will travel to East Georgia State College on February 19th.  The women’s NJCAA Region XVII tournament begins on February 22nd but as one of the top two seeds, the Lady Jets will probably get a bye in that round and be seeded in the Semi-Final Region tournament at Georgia Highlands in Rome on February 25th.  The finals will be played on Saturday, February 26th.

   The Jets travel to Georgia Highlands on February 19th before hosting Andrew College on February 23th and traveling to East Georgia State College on February 26th to close out the regular season.  The men’s NJCAA Region XVII tournament will begin March 1st with the top four teams hosting the first round and the highest seeded team remaining hosting the semi-finals and finals on March 4th and 5th.

Kamya Hollingshed, 30, led the Lady Jets with 17 points.