SGTC’s Williams, Sakano named to NJCAA Region XVII All-Tournament squads
Freshman guard Mio Sakano and sophomore guard Deonte Williams of the South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets and Jets basketball teams were selected to National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I Region XVII All-Tournament teams recently.
The SGTC Lady Jets and Jets both hosted the quarter-final round of the NJCAA Region XVII tournaments and advanced to the semi-final rounds. The Lady Jets traveled to East Georgia State College in Swainsboro, GA, and the Jets traveled to Albany State College in Albany.
The second-seeded SGTC Lady Jets took a 97 – 46 victory over seventh-ranked Southern Crescent Technical College in the quarter-final round before dropping a 73 – 67 loss to third ranked Central Georgia Tech in the semi-finals in Swainsboro. East Georgia State College defeated Central Georgia Tech in the finals and captured the NJCAA Region XVII title. East Georgia will now advance to the NJCAA National Tournament in Casper, Wyoming.
Sakano, who was named to the GCAA All-Region second-team, led the Lady Jets in scoring in both the quarter-final and the semi-final games. She scored 26 points in the matchup with South Crescent Technical College and also pulled down 10 rebounds for a double-double night.
She came back and led the Lady Jets in scoring with 22 points in the 73 – 67 loss to Central Georgia Tech in the semi-final round. She also had five rebounds, four assists, and one steal in that game. She has scored 400 points in 29 games this season and is the second leading scorer for the Lady Jets.
The 5’ 10” freshman guard is from Yamanashi, Japan. She helped lead the Lady Jets to a 21 – 11 overall record and an 11 – 5 performance in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association regular season conference.
“Mio’s selection to the All-Tournament team was well deserved. She had two of her best offensive performances of the season during the tournament. That is an impressive accomplishment for a freshman and something we plan to build on next season,” said SGTC Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach Jason Carpenter.
Jets 6’ 6” sophomore guard Deonte Williams from Byron Bay, Australia, was the other South Georgia Technical College basketball player honored with the NJCAA Region XVII All-Tournament team selection.
“Deonte has such a great story to tell. He only had one scholarship offer and that was from South Georgia Tech,” said SGTC Jets basketball coach Chris Ballauer. “A lot of people doubted him and his ability to play college basketball, which in turn sparked a fire in him to prove people wrong. These last two years have been amazing to watch him grow both on and off the court.
“He will be someone we will miss immensely,” said Ballauer. “Getting these honors just shows how hard work pays off. He is planning to sign with Sacramento State in a few weeks. We wish him all the best.”
Williams helped lead the Jets to a fourth-place finish in the GCAA regular season conference with an 11 – 5 and 17 – 11 overall record. The Jets finished up 18 – 12 overall with a 54 – 53 quarter-final win over Central Georgia Tech in the quarterfinals and a 68 – 61 loss to the top-ranked Albany Tech Titans in the semi-final round played at Albany State College.
Williams, who was the GCAA Defensive Player of the Year and a member of the GCAA All-Defensive team and GCAA first team All-Region group, scored nine points in the 54 – 53 win over Central Georgia Tech in the quarter-finals. He scored 15 points against Albany Tech to lead the team in scoring and had five rebounds, two assists and one steal before fouling out.
Williams is the second leading scorer for the Jets with 401 total points in 27 games. He is also the team’s leading rebounder with 181. He has a total of 118 assists, 60 steals and 22 blocked shots this season. He was also named the GCAA Player of the Week twice this season.