Gordon Wins First GCAA Men's Basketball Championship
As anticipated the GCAA Championship game between Gordon and Georgia Perimeter proved to be a hard fought battle. The previous nights scoring leaders Ryan Fleming of Gordon and Muhammad Abdul-Aleem of GPC were held scorless in the 1st half so two others players stepped up to take the lead role.
SATURDAY CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: As anticipated the GCAA Championship game between Gordon and Georgia Perimeter proved to be a hard fought battle. The previous nights scoring leaders Ryan Fleming of Gordon and Muhammad Abdul-Aleem of GPC were held scorless in the 1st half so two others players stepped up to take the lead role. Marquis Barnes lead the Highlanders with 17 first half points while Brandon Jenkins contributed 12 points for the Jaguars and after 20 minutes of play the Jags took a 37 -36 halftime lead. The Highlanders came out in the second half and made the necessary free throws while GPC missed the front end of three one and one opportunities. Another tell-tale factor was that GPC scored only three points in the last seven minutes of the contest and allowed Gordon to take a close game to a 13 point victory winning 73-60. Marquis Barnes led the Highlanders with 24 points while Jarvis Williams contributed 19 points and 11 rebounds. Gordon captured their first GCAA Conference championship and will head to Hutchinson, KS where their first opponent will be the winner of Region 7 in Tennessee.
FRIDAY GAME 1: The first semifinal game was exciting on several counts. Gordon Coach Izzy Ingle was running on pure adrenaline. Late Thursday night/ early Friday morning his wife gave birth to their first child...a girl. Coach Ingle sported a pink tie in her honor. But Gordon found themselves down 37-35 at halftime as Middle Georgia shot a blazing 50% from the floor. The Warriors kept the game close until Gordon pulled away with about 4 minutes left to win 79-66. The Highlanders were led with five players scoring in double figures. Ryan Fleming and Marquis Barnes each scored 21 points and 7 rebounds. Gordon will be playing for their first GCAA championship.
GAME 2: Coach Alfred Barney found himself back in a familiar position..the number one seed and looking to get back to the NJCAA national tournament in Hutchinson KS. But to get there he had to get past the Albany Tech Titans. It was probably good for each team that neither wanted to take advantage of the other and after 20 minutes the Jags held a 20-18 halftime lead. The second half featured each team going back and forth and the Titans had the opportunity to cut the lead to 2 points but couldn't capitalize from the free throw line while the Jaguars hit the needed shots to seal the victory by a 51-44 margin. Musa Abdul-Aleem led the Jaguars scoring over half the GPC points finishing the night with 27 points and 8 boards. Jamorris Gaines led the Titans with 15 points.