Jets split decisions in Miami Dade Classic

December 5, 2017
South Georgia Tech’s Rico Simmons is shown above taking a free throw for the Jets recently. He led the Jets in scoring with 42 points in their win over Miami Dade College.
South Georgia Tech’s Rico Simmons is shown above taking a free throw for the Jets recently. He led the Jets in scoring with 42 points in their win over Miami Dade College.

Miami, FL – The South Georgia Technical College Jets scored over 100 points once and were only two points shy of that mark in their second match-up in the Miami Dade Classic tournament recently. The Jets opened the tournament with an impressive 119 – 108 win over the previously unbeaten Miami Dade College Sharks but then dropped a hard fought 107 – 98 double over-time decision to Palm Beach State College in the second game.
“I was very proud of the efforts that these young men put forth,” said South Georgia Technical College Jets head coach Travis Garrett. “It is hard to play two intense games back to back and win both of them but I think we are really turning things around and learning to play together better as a team.”
Jets starting point guard Rico Simmons, 5’ 9” from Wilkinson County, GA, set a new school scoring record in the win over Miami Dade. He scored 42 points. The previous record for most points scored in a single game was 38 points. Simmons hit seven of 10 three-point shots and was seven of eight from the foul line. He also made seven of 14 from the two-point range. In addition to his 42 points, he also accounted for six rebounds, seven assists and two steals in that game.
Marquel Wiggins, the 6’ 6” forward from Oglethorpe, GA, had a great game with 23 points, five rebounds, two steals, and one blocked shot. Dawan Bass, a 6’ 4” forward from Baltimore, MD, was also impressive with 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. Emshuan Offord, a 6’ 1” sophomore guard from Albany, came off the bench to score 13 points, pull down two rebounds and record five assists to close out the double-digit scoring.
Sophomore guard Mike Boone tossed in eight points, freshman forward Adonis Green and sophomore forward DeVante Foster both added six points, Dominique Walker scored three points, and Monte Greene closed out the scoring with two points in that victory.
Less than 15 hours later, the Jets were back on the court to face Palm Beach State College. The two teams were evenly matched during the regulation game with the score tied at 36 – 36 at the end of the first half and then 78 – 78 at the end of the second half. The two teams both scored 11 points in the first over-time period but then Palm Beach State outscored the Jets 18 – 9 in the second overtime to capture the 107 – 98 victory.
Sophomore forward Marquel Wiggins from Oglethorpe led the Jets in the match-up with 23 points, nine rebounds and one blocked shot. Sophomore guard Rico Simmons was close behind with 21 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Sophomore guard Mike Boone stepped up to double figures with 17 points, four rebounds, five assists, and four steals and then Dawan Bass closed out the double-digit scoring with 15 points, two rebounds, four steals, and two assists.
The Jets’ Adonis Green came off the bench to toss in eight points. Dominique Walker, a freshman from Brunswick, added six points, Emshuan Offord and DeVante Foster both scored three points, and Monte Greene had two points on the night.
That loss put the Jets at 4 – 5 on the season. They will be hosting Tallahassee Community College on Wednesday, December 6th at 7:30 p.m. as part of a double-header with the SGTC Lady Jets who play Andrew College at 5:30 p.m.