MILLEDGEVILLE — Emotion and a packed Trojan Center helped the John Milledge Academy varsity basketball teams to victory over region opponent Pinewood Christian Academy Saturday. The girls won 49-42, while the boys finished the sweep with a 53-40 triumph.
Trojan girls’ head coach Natasha Gainous praised the early defense that held the top team in the region to only 10 first half points.
“We were on point. That was a different defense than we usually play,” Gainous said. “We switched on every screen, and the girls talked to each other on both sides the first half.”
Great ball movement gave JMA easy looks all night. Seniors Sarah Miller and Maggie Morris elevated their leadership, as the Trojans maintained a 35-21 lead heading to the final quarter.
Pinewood sliced the advantage to single digits inside three minutes. JMA found a way to escape corner traps, which opened up junior Mollie Ritchie for some break away layups.
“At the end, we knew we had to help each other and not force the ball in there. I was nervous but confident. We all came with hustle tonight,” Morris said.
Morris iced the game with two gigantic free throws. Gainous praised her team for getting the ball to the right shooters when the Patriots had to foul.
The girls are 13-10, 4-4 in region. Knocking out a team with only one loss before Saturday was sweet redemption for the Trojans, proving they could compete with the best region opposition.
Miller punched a double-double with 20 points and 15 rebounds. Ritchie provided 16 points and eight rebounds. Morris scrapped to five points, five assists and four rebounds.
Boys’ play followed suit as the Trojans hoped to defeat Pinewood for the first time in three years. A 10-0 run to open the game had the stands rocking. Junior Brantley Attaway showed renewed focus and shooting touch early.
The Patriots locked up on defense in the second quarter and took advantage of some poor interior passing by JMA. Pinewood drilled another half-court heave to be down 21-13 at the break.
Players became overzealous in the third quarter, and the contest quickly turned to a grinding half-court boxing match.
The whistle got plenty of work for each team. Attaway was relinquished to the bench after he picked up his fourth foul. Junior David Youngblood stepped up at guard during his absence.
Seniors Brett Lyle, Logan Colburn, Dusty Tyson and Wynn Owen all showed out on their night. Boy’s head coach Thomas Craig said Lyle’s defense can’t be forgotten.
“Brett held their best player to three points the second half. He’s the best defensive player we have. I’ll take him in a fight,” Craig said.
Pinewood got within four points the final quarter, but JMA pulled away. Attaway came back to drill an open trey, and Tyson exposed his determined grit.
“It was really physical tonight. I like tight, physical games,” Tyson said. “Hopefully, this isn’t the last time we play a home game this year.
Owen had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, and fellow big man Colburn added 15 rebounds. Attaway had 16 points on four 3-pointers, while Tyson filled the stats with 12 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Craig was emotional about his senior class taking a big region win, moving them to 14-10 overall and 3-7 in region play.
“The seniors are fighters. They battle everyday at practice. Everybody kept their composure,” Craig said. “Pinewood has come back on us in the past. The seniors got this win.”
Next up for JMA are road games at Augusta Prep this tonight starting at 6 p.m.
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