JMA teams make state tourney

Published 6:56 pm Monday, February 17, 2025

A lackluster regular season still landed the John Milledge Academy boys and girls basketball teams where they wanted to be, which is in the state playoffs.

The Lady Trojans (10-15) entered the GIAA Class AAA bracket as the seventh seed out of 12 teams. That earned them the right to host their playoff opener versus No. 10 Deerfield-Windsor (12-15) of Albany Tuesday. It was a rematch from the regular season after the JMA girls won the first bout 38-24 at home. Winner of that game goes on to the Elite Eight to face No. 2 Terrell Academy.

The John Milledge girls under first-year head coach Jordan Walters finished third in their region tourney last week. They stunned FPD 47-45 in the opening round before falling to Stratford 65-42 in the semis. The Lady Trojans then defeated Mount de Sales 54-47 in the consolation game.

On the boys side, head coach Mitch Risley’s 9-14 team just did make the playoff field as the 12th and final berth. That lands the Trojans a long road trip to No. 5 Frederica Academy (15-7) on St. Simons Island for a 6 p.m. tip Wednesday. The teams did not meet in the regular season.

Like the girls, the John Milledge boys won their region tourney opener last week, beating FPD 57-36. Next up was a third loss to Stratford this season with the tally coming in at 50-38 Eagles in the final meeting. JMA then fell to Tattnall Square 69-60 in the third-place contest.

GMC Prep one and done in region

Basketball season is over at GMC Prep after the boys and girls went one and done in the region tournament held at Wilkinson County High School last week. The girls lost to the host school 48-27, ending their season with a 1-19 record. The lone win came in a 29-26 victory over Twiggs on Jan. 31.

The GMC boys saw their campaign end at the hands of Johnson County, who won the region first-round game 64-46 on Feb. 11. The Bulldogs wound up 1-21 this season with their win having come in a 54-46 final over Glascock on Feb. 4.