Jets take 84 – 81 win over nationally ranked Shelton State at the buzzer
Tuscaloosa, AL – The South Georgia Technical College Jets took an impressive 84 – 81 victory over the previously unbeaten Shelton State Bucs, who were ranked 7th in the National Junior College Athletic Association men’s basketball Division 1 standings this week, to remain unbeaten with a 4 – 0 record.
The two teams fought for the lead all night long. Shelton led by as many as 11 points with less than nine minutes to play. The two teams continued to battle but SGTC was able to outscore Shelton State 14 – 2 in a two-minute stretch late in the second half to tie the game at 65 – 65. The lead swapped back and forth until SGTC sophomore guard Marvin McGhee, III, scored with less than two minutes left in the game to tie the score at 78 – 78. From that point on, SGTC never looked back.
Matija Milivojevic, a sophomore guard/forward, hit a three-pointer with fifty-three seconds remaining to give the Jets an 81 – 78 lead. Sophomore guard Will Johnston drove to the basket and scored to put the Jets ahead 83 – 78. Seconds later Shelton State hit a three-point shot to close the gap to 83 – 81 with 4.9 seconds remaining in the game.
Sophomore forward Jalen Reynolds, who played the final 10-minutes of the game with four fouls, was fouled with 1.9 seconds remaining and sank both free throws to clinch the impressive win over the nationally ranked Shelton State Bucs on their home court in the Shelton State Veteran’s Day Classic Tournament.
“This was a BIG WIN,” said South Georgia Technical College Jets head coach Chris Ballauer after his team battled from behind to clinch the victory at the buzzer. “The guys played so hard and did what they needed to do to upset a very good Shelton State team. I am very proud of their effort.”
Sophomore guard Marvin McGhee, III, from Atlanta, Georgia, led the Jets in scoring for the second consecutive night with a total of 23 points. He had 15 points in the first half. Sophomore guard Justice Hayes from Cartersville, GA, was close behind with 20 points followed by Will Johnson, a sophomore guard from Sydney Australia, who contributed 18 points. Jalen Reynolds, a sophomore forward from Darien, GA, was the only other SGTC player in double figures and he had 13 points despite playing with three fouls midway during the first half.
The Jets started the night off smoking hot and were up 26 – 8 early. Then Shelton outscored SGTC 32 – 12 to secure a 40 – 38 lead at the end of the first half. At that time, SGTC only had six scorers and Marvin McGhee was the only one in double figures with 15 points.
The Jets will now travel to Phenix City, AL to take on Chattahoochee Valley Community College on Saturday at 3 p.m. Chattahoochee Valley Community College is on a three-game winning streak after posting victories over Andrew College, Southern Crescent Technical College and Reinhardt JV. They are 3 – 1 on the season.
The Jets will return home for a game against Action Sports Academy on Saturday, November 20th at 2 p.m. The Lady Jets will play at home on Saturday, November 13th at 1 p.m. in a conference game with Andrew College at 1 p.m. and then host nationally ranked Georgia Highlands on Tuesday, November 16th at 5:30 p.m.
The Lady Jets will then travel to Tallahassee, FL for the Tallahassee Community College Classic on November 20th and 21st. They take on Monroe Community College from NY on Saturday and then Tallahassee on Sunday.