SGTC Jets advance to NJCAA Region XVII finals with win over South Georgia State
Rome, GA – The South Georgia Technical Jets overcame a 14-point deficit to take a 78 – 70 victory over the South Georgia State Hawks in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XVII tournament semi-finals at Georgia Highlands College in Rome, GA Friday night. The Jets will meet Georgia Highlands in the finals at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 5th. The winner will advance to the NJCAA national tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas. Georgia Highlands defeated Albany Tech in the other semi-final match.
“This was big,” said South Georgia Technical College Jets head coach Chris Ballauer after his team refused to lose. “They never gave up and I am so proud of how hard they played even when things did not seem to be going our way. South Georgia State has a good team and we knew it was going to be a tough game. Our last two games were decided in the final seconds. I am glad that didn’t happen tonight.”
Jets freshman 6’ 7” forward Bryce Turner from Jacksonville, FL stepped up in the last two minutes of the match-up and helped the Jets clinch the win. His number was called when sophomore Marvin McGhee, III fouled out with three minutes remaining. He came up with five defensive rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block in addition to a crucial field goal and two free throws in those final minutes to lift the Jets to a 74 – 68 lead with 1:14 remaining. The Jets were able to build on that and take the 78 – 70 victory over South Georgia State.
Sophomore guard Marvin McGhee, III, was the leading scorer for the Jets with a total of 25 points. Fourteen of those came in the second half. He was five of 10 from the three-point line and six of six from the foul line. He also had five rebounds and four assists.
Sophomore guard Malik Battle was another top point producer with 20 points, 12 coming in the second half. He hit a three and several free throws in the final minutes to help the Jets secure the win. He was four of five from the three-point line, eight of eight from the foul line and had three rebounds, three assists, and one block.
Another sophomore guard Will Johnston was in double-figures with 12 points. He was three of seven from the three-point line and one of two from the free throw line. He had four rebounds, six assists, and one steal. Sophomore Matija Milivojevic tossed in eight points, had eight rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot. He was followed by Jalen Reynolds with seven points, eight rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block. Bryce Turner was the only other Jet who scored and he had six points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block.
South Georgia State scored first in the match-up and were up 28 – 14 with 5:51 remaining in the first half. The Jets rallied and cut that lead to four points at the end of the first half which ended with the Jets down 33 – 29. South Georgia Tech continued to trail until 14:04 in the second half when they pulled ahead briefly 44 – 43.
South Georgia State bounced back and retook the lead and pulled ahead by as many as six points with 10-minutes remaining. South Georgia Tech regained the lead again 67 – 66 with 4:12 showing on the clock but the Hawks rallied to regain the lead 68 – 67 with 3:09 on the clock. SGTC’s Malik Battle hit a three-pointer with 2:07 on the clock to give the Jets a 70 – 68 lead. Bryce Turner added to that lead with four points and then Battle scored four more points to help the Jets clinch the 78 – 70 victory.
The win sets up a rematch between South Georgia Technical College and Georgia Highlands. Georgia Highlands won the regular season Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) regular season title and South Georgia Technical College finished second. The Jets beat Georgia Highlands twice in the regular season. Georgia Highlands advanced to the finals after taking an 85 – 77 victory over the fifth-ranked Albany Tech Titans.
The two teams will meet in the finals at 3 p.m. in Rome in Georgia Highlands home gym. The winner of the match-up will advance to the NJCAA National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas, March 14th.