Chargers’ furious run in final minutes falls short
♦ After trailing by 10 late, Georgia Highlands closes gap, but South Georgia State holds on for GCAA championship win
With their season on the line and facing a 10-point deficit, the Georgia Highlands Chargers made a furious comeback attempt in the closing minutes of Saturday’s GCAA Tournament Championship Game, but ultimately it wasn’t enough as the South Georgia State Hawks held on for a 76-72 victory to clinch a berth in the NJCAA National Tournament.
Georgia Highlands (23-10) fought back from a halftime deficit to cut the Hawks’ lead to two on multiple occasions in the second half, including at 62-60 with around four minutes to play. South Georgia State (26-7) answered, however with a 9-1 run to push its lead back to 10 at 71-61 with a little more than two minutes to go in the contest.
The Chargers refused to go away on their home court and got a string of clutch buckets from Akili Evans and then a layup from Khyree Cayne with 37.8 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 73-71. That was the closest they got though as South Georgia State closed out the game with multiple defensive stops and strong free throw shooting down the stretch.
Evans led the Chargers with 21 points, including 13 in the second half and nine in the final three minutes despite dealing with foul trouble for much of the contest.
TJ Porter was also big for Georgia Highlands, scoring 15 off the bench, to go with eight rebounds, and PJ Carter was the third player in double figures for his team with 13 points off the bench. Ubong Okon added eight points and 11 rebounds, and Julian Dozier dished out nine assists.
Carlos Hart had the top total in the game with 23 points for South Georgia State, who clinches the conference’s automatic bid to the NJCAA National Tournament with the win. He also had nine rebounds. Kyric Davis was also in double figures with 16 points.
Justin Edmondson and Yannis Woods each contributed eight for the Hawks, and
Zae Wiggins scored seven.
Georgia Highlands started the game strong, getting out to a 15-6 lead in the opening minutes, but after a timeout, South Georgia State came roaring back and eventually built a 35-23 lead. The Chargers closed the half on a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to seven as the teams entered the locker room at the break.
Georgia Highlands continued to chip away in the second half, but each time they got within a possession or two of the lead, the Hawks were able to get a timely bucket or two to maintain their advantage before the frantic final few minutes.
South Georgia State will now prepare for the NJCAA National Championship Tournament which starts on March 20 in Hutchinson, Kansas. The Hawks avenged two regular-season losses to Georgia Highlands with Saturday’s tournament win.
Georgia Highlands’ season comes to an end after the loss as the Chargers didn’t receive an at-large bid to the tournament after the brackets were announced on Sunday.
In the semifinals of the GCAA Tournament on Friday:
Georgia Highlands 64,
Central Georgia Technical 54
The Chargers overcame a tough shooting night to earn a hard-fought win in the GCAA Tournament semifinals and advance to Saturday’s championship game.
Georgia Highlands (23-9) led 36-23 at the half but had to hold off a determined Titans team over the final 20 minutes to secure the victory.
Leading the Chargers was Akili Evans with 15 points. Julian Dozier was also in double figures with 14 to go with seven assists and seven rebounds. TJ Horton contributed nine points and nine rebounds, PJ Carter had nine points off the bench and Ubonk Okon had seven points and seven rebounds.
Christopher Osobaye was the top scorer for Central Georgia Technical, the only team to defeat Georgia Highlands in the conference in the regular season, with 12 points. Jovan Tucker and Jeronimo Villegas each added 10 points. Trayveyon Perry added eight points and nine rebounds.