Monthly Archives: November 2017

GHSA, GHSA Basketball, Girls Recaps, Recaps

Statewide Recap 11-17

BOYS

Class AAAAAAA

Kennesaw Mountain 79, Chattahoochee 50: The Jalyn McCreary-era kicked off with a bang as the Preseason First Team All-State selection hung 19 points and 10 rebounds in his varsity debut. Josh Strong picked up where he left off last season with 14 points and 4 assists.

Rockdale County 69, Loganville 63: After scoring only 13 points against No. 9 Meadowcreek, the Bulldogs bounced back behind Sayvon Traylor’s 30 points.  In the loss Jamar Moore had 23 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks. Akil Covington had 15 points and 3 rebounds for the Red Devils.

Milton 75, Dawson Christian 49: Christian Wright pumped in 37 points and JP McGhee totaled 8 points and 14 rebounds in the Eagle win.

Class AAAAAA

Lakeside-Evans 109, Augusta Christian 82: The Panthers steamrolled the SCISA’s Lions, proving again that the best basketball is played in the GHSA. Kalen Williams went for 34 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. TyShun Briscoe added 18 points, 3 rebounds and 5 steals. Tucker Gilbert posted 16 points and 13 rebounds. Brad Hilley tallied 17 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.

Mundy’s Mill 65, Luella 41: Jordan Black (16) and John Coats (12) combined for 28 points in the Tiger victory.

Creekview 70, North Forsyth 50: KJ Jenkins poured in 29 points to lift the Grizzlies.

North Atlanta 80, Osborne 39: The new look Warriors received 17 points and 8 assists from Messiah Thompson in a 41-point rout. Desmond Thomas scored 17 points and Vallon Toussant pitched in 4 points and 15 rebounds. Josh Johnson scored 12. Jarmaine Miles led the Cardinals with 20 points.

Pope 68, Sprayberry 61: Jackson Baylark finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 8 blocks. Josh Luttrell drilled five threes en route to an 18-point performance. Micah Paulk added 15. Sprayberry saw Micah McCuen go for 25 points and 9 rebounds while Idaho-signee Khadim Samb had 12 points and 7 rebounds.

Lovejoy 50, Decatur 41: Jamal Reynolds scored 18 points and Omari Callahan added 11 in the Wildcats win; Coach Quantavias Allen’s first at the helm of Lovejoy. Freshman Travon Smith scored 15 for Decatur while Chalin Hippe netted 9.

Class AAAAA

No. 5 Columbia 90, Henry County 72: Josh Taylor collected 22 points, 18 rebounds and 4 blocks as the Warhawks had no answer inside. Lorenzo McGhee tallied 26 points and 9 rebounds. Keondre Kennedy netted 20.

No. 8 McIntosh 97, New Manchester 62: The Chiefs routed New Manchester using a balanced onslaught. Naj Ashley-Emory scored 18 points while Cole Guenther led the way with 20 points, 4 steals and 4 blocks. Chaz Hardin chipped in 15 points and Zach Pina netted 12.

Lithia Springs 91, Chapel Hill 55: The Lions got 18 points from Keyshawn Phillips and 12 from Terrence Ashford in the win.

Stockbridge 78, Washington 54: Kavonte Ivery powered in 25 points and Trillis Brown added 11 for the Tigers. Kaelon Hinton, Davian Johnson and Elijah Austell all added 10.

Cass 56, Hephzibah 47: Carter Hedden (15), Ashton Burley (13) and Justice Hayes (10) all cracked double figures in the Colonels’ win at the Evans Hoopfest Tip-Off Tournament. Ethan Carter chipped in 9 points.

Class AAAA

North Clayton 69, Forest Park 54: Joseph Wimbley netted a game-high 18 points as the Eagles used a 24-6 third quarter to surge past the Panthers. Xavier Valley (14), Jermaine Lattimore Jr. (12), Jaimonnie Watkins-Causey (8) and Christopher Williams (8) all had strong nights scoring the ball.  Fabian Hill led Forest Park with 16 points followed by Jayden Walker’s 9.

Spalding 49, Troup County 40: Jay Jefferson went for 23 points and 5 assists, but it wasn’t enough to deny the Jaguars an early season victory.

Class AAA

Union County 48, Gilmer 34: Pierson Allison scored 10 points as the Panthers outscored the Bobcats 33-6 in the second half.

Franklin County 80, Habersham Central 54: Micah Roebuck got buckets with 26 points and Malique Combs tacked on 16 as the Lions cruised. Zach Gay added 11 points.

Class AA

Class A-Private

No. 1 St. Francis 84, Brewbaker Tech, AL 70: The No. 1 ranked Knights opened up the season at the Hoops 4 A Cure Classic and received 22 points from Dwon Odom in a winning effort. Chase Ellis added 20 and Sam Hines chipped in 15 points.

Galloway 41, Providence Christian Academy 36: The Storm came up short in a low scoring affair. Al Dorsey netted 9 points in the loss.

GIRLS

Class AAAAAAA

Class AAAAAA

No. 8 Forest Park 62, North Clayton 27: Freshman post Sania Feagin had her way inside with 15 points. Sarah Matthews scored 12 and Jasmine Stevens added 11 points. Jada Showers and Jasmine Holcombe scored 8 apiece to pace the Eagles in the loss.

River Ridge 40, North Paulding 31: Savannah Samuel dropped in 16 points followed by Faith Arthur’s 15 to beat the Wolfpack.

Pope 63, Sprayberry 47: Cheyenne Holloman scored a team-high 18 points to power Pope. Abby McKinley chipped in 14 points and Teya Holloman netted 11.

Class AAAAA

Class AAAA

No. 3 Henry County 63, Columbia 25: Auburn-signee Brook Moore scored 16 points and Janaya Wadsworth tacked on 14 in the win. Shontrice Austin had 11 for Columbia.

Class AAA

Union County 44, Gilmer 39: The Panthers used a 10-1 run to race past the Bobcats. Aubree Pack scored a team-high 15 points including the go-ahead three-pointer with 2:28 left. Andelin Hill tossed in 9 points.

Class AA

Class A-Private

Class A-Public

GHSA, GHSA Basketball, Spielin' & Dealin' Podcast

Spielin’ & Dealin’ Ep. 34: Bartow Sports Zone season preview

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Kyle Sandy joined Bartow Sports Zone to preview the 2017/18 GHSA high school basketball season. Bartow Sports Zone is a weekly, sports-talk radio show hosted by Charles Wilson airing Fridays 7-9am on WBHF-Cartersville (100.3FM/AM1450). The show features local coaches and sports personalities. The complete episode of Friday’s podcast can be located on Podomatic. Visit Bartow Sports Zone online for the latest episodes and all things Bartow County sports.

GHSA, GHSA Basketball, Girls Recaps, Recaps

Statewide Recap 11-16

BOYS

Class AAAAAAA

No. 2 Norcross 79, Walnut Grove 42: Dalvin White put in 16 points for Norcross, followed closely by the 15 points of Kyle Sturdivant and Brandon Boston’s 12. RJ Selman led Walnut Grove with 14 first-half points before an injury prematurely ended his night.

No. 10 Collins Hill 82, Heritage-Conyers 63: Chris Parks notched a double-double with 27 points and 11 rebounds. Mandarius Dickerson (23 points), Justin Lee (15 points, 11 rebounds) and Elijah Wilson (11 points) all contributed in the win for Collins Hill. Trelan Scott led a balanced scoring night for Heritage with 16 points, followed closely by Adrian Boykin’s 15 and Josh Guilford’s 14.

Mill Creek 64, West Forsyth 53: Jayden Marshall made five three-pointers en route to 23 points on the night. Noah Kenney followed up with 21 of his own.

Campbell 76, Marietta 69: Junior Donovan Grant set up camp behind the arc, going 7-for-11 from three-point range and scoring 27 points total. Point guard Terrell Burden added 20 points, 8 assists and 3 steals, while senior Kiya Randolph pitched in 17 points.

Class AAAAAA

No. 10 Cambridge 67, Walton 55: Kamar Robertson and David Banks each scored 18 points to lead the Bears. Robertson added 7 assists as well. Bryce Boutelle chipped in 14 points.

Douglas County 83, No. 4 Tri-Cities 77 OT:  Cam Copeland pumped in 24 points and Rickey Clark scored 17 points to pace the Tigers. Malik Battle netted 14 points and Ernest Randle triple-doubled with 11 points, 17 rebounds and 11 blocks to sneak past the Bulldogs and open up Region 5 play with a bang. Unsigned lefty wing Eli Lawrence poured in 25 points in the loss. DaMarcus Johnson and Jon Young each had 12.

North Atlanta 66, Lovett 29: Messiah Thompson stuffed the stat sheet with 26 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals.

Class AAAAA

Flowery Branch 71, Chestatee 49: Justin Quick double-doubled with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 4 steals. JJ Greene added 17 points and 6 rebounds, Devon Wainer had 10 points and 4 rebound while Joey Nidoy chipped in 7 points and 6 rebounds.

Class AAAA

Blessed Trinity 64, Centennial 49: In a balanced team effort, the Titans pushed past the Knights. Ben Shappard led the charge with 21 points, buoyed by Andy Swade’s 15 and Will Marin’s 14 points.

Class AAA

No. 4 Greater Atlanta Christian 61 4ANo. 8 Woodward Academy 35: Hunter McIntosh led all scorers with 28 points for GAC, 23 of which came in the first half, whereas Walker Kessler led Woodward Academy with 8 points.

Dawson County 61, Jefferson 41: Cullen Reed led the Tigers with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Jeremiah Crumley added 13 points and 8 rebounds. Campbell Reed scored 10 points and Ryan Gallekamp grabbed 8 rebounds. Jefferson was led by Jasper Gibson’s 24 points and Jacob Radaker’s 12.

Class AA

No. 5 Thomasville 70, 4A No. 7 Westover 56: Behind Mississippi State-signee Reggie Perry’s 25 points and Titus Wright’s 11, the Bulldogs secured an early statement victory over Class AAAA No. 7 Westover in a battle of two of South Georgia’s best. Kris Gardner (21 points) and Cameron Weston (16 points) contributed offensively to Westover in a losing effort.

Class A-Private

No. 5 Wesleyan 77, Hebron Christian Academy 67: Christian McLean led the Wolves with 34 points, followed by Stevie Crawford’s 19 and Grant Summers’s 13 points.

GIRLS

Class AAAAAAA

Mill Creek 58, West Forsyth 24: Kayla Mulkey led the Hawks with 14 points, aided by Bridget Mukasa and Madison Riley, who both broke double digits in the point column (13 and 10).

Class AAAAAA

No. 6 Douglas County 88, Tri-Cities 33: Preseason All-State selection Amari Robinson led the Douglas County Tigers with 18 points.

Centennial 52, Blessed Trinity 39:  Florida Gulf Coast-commit Shekinah Guthrie dropped in 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to power the Knights past the Titans. Divine Guthrie added 9 points and 11 rebounds. Bailey Herbermehl netted 7 points.

Class AAAAA

No. 2 Flowery Branch 69, Chestatee 38: Caroline Wysocki filled up the stat sheet for Flowery Branch with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks. Carly Shaw added 14 points and 7 rebounds and Lexie Sengkhamee added 12 points in the win. University of Alabama-signee Taniyah Worth eclipsed 1,000 career points tonight with 9 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. 

Class AAAA

Class AAA

No. 8 Dawson County 68, 4ANo. 4 Jefferson 56: Dawson County led by as many as 15 points late in the third quarter and was able to weather a comeback bid by Jefferson that trimmed the deficit to eight. Calli Watson led Dawson County with 16 points off of five three-pointers; Kaylee Sticker had 15 points and Anna Lowe scored 10 points. Emma Brown chipped in 9. The Dragons received 16 points from McKenzie Tyner and 11 from Jazmin Allen. Akera Benton and freshman Livi Blackstock chipped in 7 apiece.

Class AA

Class A-Private

GISA Trinity Christian 66, Our Lady of Mercy 64: A career-high 51 points to go along with 17 rebounds, 6 steals and 3 blocks from Florida State-signee & 2016 Class A-Private Player of the Year Morgan Jones wasn’t enough to overcome Trinity Christian. The Lions were powered by Catherine Skebo’s 29 points and 8 rebounds. Abby Bragg flirted with a triple-double collecting 19 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists. Chan Hendrix snagged 11 rebounds.

 

Game Stories, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

Young Tigers claw past No. 3 Sandy Creek in white-knuckle tug-o-war at Fayette County

Contributed by Rob Grubbs   (@RCGJr226070)

Fayette County 67, 4ANo. 3 Sandy Creek 65

Fayette County and Sandy Creek went down to the wire

It’s still a week until Thanksgiving, but the menu for early season GHSA basketball games has whetted our appetite for the season ahead.  One such game was the cross-county rivalry between two Final Four teams from last year, the Sandy Creek Patriots from AAAA and Fayette County from AAAAA. Playing before two huge student sections, the game stayed within six points the entire night. The ending was dramatic, as the Tigers would score the winning basket on their last possession for the 67-65 win.

Coach Andre Flynn is back on the Tiger bench, he has coached there for over 20 years, but the players that took them to the Final Four in Columbus have moved on. He is working with a clean slate, but because of his consistency and the system he employs, the new players know exactly how they fit in. This year’s group is built around athleticism and discipline. For Sandy Creek, they brought back much of the talent that took them to Augusta last year for the semifinals but have welcomed a new coach, Jon-Michael Nickerson. Coach Nickerson, who comes with an impressive resume as a player, high school coach and college coach, brings a more defensive mindset than the past. He has a deep, talented roster with height and leadership.

On this night, there was a buzz before the tip that lasted until the final whistle, both coaches and players would say it’s early, this is a non-region game, it is not that important in the grand scheme of things, but actually, it was important to them and their play proved that. In a game that was crisp and full of athleticism and sportsmanship, Sandy Creek took a two-point lead to half. You could tell the defensive energy that both coaches were looking for was there which kept the game low scoring.

The fourth quarter, which started with Fayette County ahead 48-45 was almost a blur. It felt like the first three quarters were warm up and this was for real. Josh Dupree and Rickey Knight would hit back-to-back threes to give the Tigers the largest lead of the night at six, only to see Sandy Creek come back. Jarred Godfrey would hit two threes himself within 15 seconds of each other and with 2:50 remaining, the Patriots were up 60-59.  Ultimately, it came down to a tie game with under a minute. Fayette County point guard JeKobe Coleman, an ELCA transfer, worked from the top of the key as the Tigers waited patiently for their opportunity. With 9 seconds remaining, Coleman found Jordan Brown who had snuck in behind the Patriot zone defense for the game winning shot.

Sandy Creek had eight seconds, but Josh Dupree stole the basketball and ended the night

Afterwards Flynn said, “Our guys are so young, you don’t know how they will compete until the game starts, we did not play well on Saturday in a loss to East Coweta, but I am proud of how they fought tonight. We want to see how they respond when they get beat up because it gives you an indication of the growth. We will need to continue to grow as the year goes on.”

Takeaways

  1. JeKobe Coleman threw the pass to Brown for the winning score just like he did this season for the Fayette County football team as their QB. He was very calm and collected, the moment was not too big for the sophomore.  It is always great to see the two sport athletes play.
  2. Jarred Godfrey has bought into Coach Nickerson’s philosophies on the court. Godfrey has developed into a true leader, the college watching last night loved his performance.
  3. Patriot Kameron Miller has one speed – wide open; he scored, he passed, he rebounded and he was everywhere.
  4. The Tigers are young and are liable to have a bad game from time to time, but they are good and will get better.
  5. The Patriots lineup of Miller, Godfrey, TJ Bickerstaff, Xavier Brewer and Julian Alexander has a good mix of height and quickness.
  6. Look for both teams to make noise in the post season.

Top Performers

Fayette County
Rickey Knight – 20 points, 2 rebounds
Josh Dupree – 15 points, 2 rebounds
Terrell Bradley – 14 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists
JeKobe Coleman – 9 points, 2 assists

Sandy Creek
Jarred Godfrey – 22 points, 3 rebounds
TJ Bickerstaff 22 points, 11 rebounds
Kam Miller – 9 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists

GHSA, Girls Basketball, Girls Game Stories

Fayette County Lady Tigers impress with cross-county win over Sandy Creek

Contributed by Rob Grubbs   (@RCGJr226070)
Photo by CD Photography (@FayetteSports)

Fayette County 58, Sandy Creek 32

Trinity Brown
Trinity Brown || CD Photography

FAYETTEVILLE, Georgia – Two teams that had impressive finishes to last years’ season faced off in an early inter-county rivalry game. The Sandy Creek Lady Patriots made it to the Class AAAA Final 4 where they would lose to eventual champion Columbus. Graduation was not kind to Coach Janie Hodges and the Lady Patriots as they lost their dynamic backcourt duo of ShanQuaylia Stanton and Kasey Toles from last year’s team. This year’s team will be focused more on a strong inside game from their star post players, Daija Powell and Paris Thompson.

Fayette County Coach John Strickland also lost a key player from last year’s Class AAAAA Sweet 16 team, Darryl Langford who is at the Naval Academy now, but brought back a deep roster with strong senior leadership. In contrast to Sandy Creek, the Lady Tigers bring experience to the backcourt but are young inside. The matchup was a classic opportunity for both teams to see where they are and what needs work. Since this is was a non-region game, one team was going to win while the other was going to learn more about themselves.

Sandy Creek jumped out to an 8-5 first quarter lead with all points scored by Powell.  The new guard tandem of Nina Lum and Jania Hodges were constantly feeding the ball down low, and Powell was moving in the paint with ease. As the game progressed, the Lady Tigers continued to rotate players, making wholesale changes at almost every break.  Guards Maegan Brantley, Sidney Sims and Trinity Brown were playing fast and they slowly turned the defensive pressure up which wore down the Patriots. After taking a 22-18 lead into the half, the Lady Tigers dominated the third quarter with their full court press and depth to pull away.

Afterwards, Strickland was proud his post players who were getting the first significant playing time of their career. “Naomi Franco and Celine Akande played outstanding against their inside players, who are really good. We know what we have in our frontcourt, we know what to expect from Maegan, Trinity and Sidney, but I was really encouraged with how Naomi and Celine played. If they continue to progress, that will open up more of our offense.”

Strickland also wanted to brag more on his ladies latest academic feats than the game, he said, “This has the potential to be a special group.”

In the end, it was Fayette County 58-32 with Brown and Barkley leading scorers with 15 each. Franco played a solid game in the post, just missing a double-double with 9 points and 9 rebounds. Powell led the Lady Patriots with 15; look for them to improve as the season goes along and their guard play gets more comfortable and confident.

Top Performers

Fayette County
Maegan Barkley – 15 points, 3 rebounds
Trinity Brown – 15 points, 3 rebounds
Naomi Franco – 9 points, 9 rebounds
Sidney Sims – 8 points, 9 rebounds

Sandy Creek
Daija Powell – 14 points, 8 rebounds
Paris Thompson – 10 points, 3 rebounds