Jackets advance to Final Four with clutch victory
Calhoun makes most of Elite Eight rematch, downs Warriors in tight game
The Calhoun Yellow Jackets keep proving people wrong…and they wouldn’t want it any other way.
Few in the entire state gave them a chance to make it to the Class AAA Elite Eight, much less win on Wednesday night, and when the opponent was set with Jenkins, the same team that knocked them out of the playoffs in the Elite Eight last season, coming to town, they were certainly the underdogs once again. But the Jackets embraced that role, and fought, battled, scratched, clawed and any other word you want to describe it as, and they were the last team standing on the court on Wednesday as they defeated the Warriors 65-60 to advance to the Final Four.
The Jackets (23-4), who are in the Final Four for the second time in the last four seasons, will now face Morgan County on Saturday night at 8 p.m. in the next round at Armstrong Atlantic University in Savannah.
“I’m at a loss for words,” said Calhoun coach Vince Layson after the game. “This team hasn’t let me down all year with their intensity and will to win. They bring it every night, and that’s exactly what they did again tonight. I’m a little speechless right now.
“I think last year when we matched up with Jenkins in the Elite Eight, we thought we were the favorite, and when they ended our season, it was a shocker for us. But our guys responded once we knew we were going to have this rematch. I don’t think anybody in the state thought we could get this ‘W,’ but I can tell you that everyone in that locker room believed it. I told them after the game to soak it up because this is an achievement and game they’ll remember for a lifetime. But on that same token, we’ve got another game to get ready for on Saturday.”
The game was very hard-fought on both sides as two teams played at a high level, especially on the defensive end. Both teams worked hard for every point they scored throughout the four quarters with the fourth quarter going back and forth several times after it was tied 39-39 at the end of the third.
The final quarter featured six ties, but Calhoun never surrendered the lead back to Jenkins (22-8). Both teams made big plays, including Calhoun senior Malik Lawrence, who scored 15 of his team-high 25 points in the period and went 7-of8 from the free throw line down the stretch to seal it. In fact, Calhoun scored their last eight points at the free throw line as they went 8-for-8 in the final 1:09.
Also in double figures for the Jackets was Davis Allen with 18 points, and he also had eight rebounds. Kaylan Aker added 12 points and five rebounds, and the leading scorer Lawrence pulled down six boards of his own to go with his 25 points.
Lawrence said he felt like his team needed him and he responded in the fourth quarter.
“I knew one of us needed to step up, and my teammates encouraged me and gave me confidence,” said Lawrence, one of six seniors on the team. “I knew I needed to step up, hit free throws, handle the ball and get to the basket.
“This means a lot. At first, when we got to the Elite Eight, I was surprised, but I think we wanted it more tonight. We prepared, watched film, practiced hard and did everything we could to get this win. This is something you dream about is going to the Final Four, especially your senior year, and I’m so happy we are able to do it.”
“I was thinking the other day about Malik going through some growing pains a couple years ago, but fast forward to tonight and it was fun to see how much he’s grown up and matured into a great basketball player,” added Layson of Lawrence’s performance. “There was a time when he didn’t want the ball in those situations, but down the stretch tonight he showed how much he’s matured and made some big plays and knocked down some huge free throws.”