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Charger News
CHARGERS = CHAMPIONS
LADY CHARGERS COMPLETE A SEASON OF CHAMPIONSHIPS
Over 30 straight wins. Ranked #3 in the nation. GCAA Champions. NJCAA Southeast District 1 Champions. The NJCAA District 1 National Basketball Championship Game.
The Lady Chargers season concludes with accolades and new trophies in the case outside the Georgia Highlands College gym in Rome where they played every home game – a season to be proud of, a season that will be remembered.
With the roaring cheers of those streaming from Georgia alongside those who traveled to Texas with them, the Lady Chargers arrived in Lubbock at the RIP Griffin Center to battle it out against multiple teams for a chance at the national champion’s title.
The Lady Chargers’ defeated three teams in their quest, including Hutchinson, Trinity Valley, and Jones.
In the final game against Tyler Junior College, the Lady Chargers fell behind by 12 points with less than three minutes remaining in the 4th before rallying back and closing the gap by 6 with less than two minutes remaining. Ultimately, Tyler Junior College moved ahead and closed out the game with a final score of 92-80.
As the season ended, the Lady Chargers can proudly say the team has gone further than any other team before them – with the men’s basketball team making it as far as the semifinals in the national tournament in 2015.
Additionally, the women’s basketball team at Georgia Highlands College saw even more success off the court:
Coach Brandan Harrell was honored as “Coach of the Year,” and Lady Charger Jashanti Simmons was honored as “Player of the Year.”
For more Charger action, visit ghcchargers.com to follow the men’s and women’s basketball teams, as well as the softball and baseball teams.
Charger News
PLAYER OF THE YEAR JASHANTI SIMMONS
Jashanti Simmons is the 2022 WBCA Two-Year College Player of the Year and headlines the 2022 WBCA Two-Year College Coaches’ All-America team. The WBCA presents the ‘Player of the Year’ award annually to the top player in five of the six WBCA membership divisions.
COACH OF THE YEAR BRANDAN HARRELL
GHC Head Coach and Athletic Director Brandan Harrell was named the 2022 WBCA Two-Year College National Coach of the Year. Harrell will receive the Pat Summitt Trophy, named for the late legendary University of Tennessee coach and awarded annually to the national coaches of the year in each of the WBCA’s six membership divisions.
Charger News
SEASON RECAP Charger Basketball
The men’s basketball team at Georgia Highlands College had a mixed season of wins and losses through 33 games (21-12) with an average of almost 80 points per game. The Chargers fought hard for a position in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Game against South Georgia Tech but found themselves falling just short of the title.
As seen in the Rome News-Tribune:
The Chargers rallied back from a 15-point deficit with less than four minutes to play in regulation to force overtime, but South Georgia Tech made four free throws in the final 31.8 seconds of overtime and also got a crucial out-of-bounds call in their favor with with 10 seconds remaining in the extra session to earn an 87-84 victory in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association Championship Game.
Georgia Highlands (21-12) found themselves in a deep hole late in the game as a bucket by South Georgia Tech’s Jalen Reynolds with 3:51 remaining in regulation pushed the Jets’ lead to 78-63. But the Chargers refused to go away and continued to chip away at the deficit with clutch offensive sequences and crucial defensive stops and forced turnovers.
They scored 11 straight points to cut the deficit to 78-74, and after a free throw from South Georgia Tech with less than a minute to play, Georgia Highlands’ CJ Jackson knocked down a 3-pointer with 22 seconds to play to make the score 79-77. On the ensuing inbounds pass, the Chargers defense forced a steal, which Joel Pullen converted into a game-tying lay-up. South Georgia Tech had one last chance in regulation but missed a jumper and then had the ball deflected out of bounds as time expired in the fourth to send the teams to overtime.
In the extra session, South Georgia Tech (2211) built an 83-80 lead, but Georgia Highlands battled right back in front thanks to two free throws by Julian Dozier Jr. and a shot from deep inside the paint by Jarrel Rosser to go up 84-83. The Jets’ Will Johnston knocked down two free throws with 31.8 seconds remaining to put his team ahead 85-84, but the controversy happened on Georgia Highlands’ next possession as it appeared the ball was knocked out of bounds by Jets’ defender but possession was awarded to South Georgia Tech. Johnston proceeded to make two more free throws after being fouled, and a last-second 3-point attempt by the Chargers didn’t fall to send the Jets to a GCAA title and the Chargers to a crushing season-ending loss.
“Our guys fought so hard...that’s why it’s so sad after all that for the game to end the way it ended,” said Georgia Highlands head coach JJ Merritt. “It’s extremely tough to watch for our guys who put so much into this. When you grind it out like we did today and come back from so far down to get back in the game, you shouldn’t have it taken away from you like we feel it was.”
Merritt said he didn’t want to see this team’s time together on the court end…
“I will say that this group is special,” said Merritt. “We went through so much adversity and bonded together to make this run. I’m really proud of them and what they have given this program this year. I hate to see it end because I feel like we could’ve done more.”
Charger Softball
Georgia Highlands College softball is led by Head Coach Savannah Sloan and Assistant Coach Jordan Thornton. The team competes in Region XVII of the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association affiliated with the National Junior College Athletic Association Division 1. The team is based at the Cartersville site and plays all home games at Star’s Field located in Cartersville. For a full game schedule, team roster, and season updates, please visit ghcchargers.com.
Charger Baseball
Georgia Highlands College baseball is led by Head Coach Dash O’Neill, Assistant Coach Todd Cole, and Pitching Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Tucker Hughes. The team competes in Region XVII of the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association of the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I. The team is based at the Cartersville site and plays all home games at the Prep Baseball Report LakePoint Sporting Community in Emerson. For a full game schedule, team roster, and season updates, visit ghcchargers.com.
Charger News
GHC Today is the official news center for Georgia Highlands College. Students, alumni, and community members can subscribe to receive periodic updates from the college and see all the exciting things happening at GHC! SUBSCRIBE NOW AT GHCTODAY.HIGHLANDS.EDU
The official magazine of Georgia Highlands College Fall/Winter 2021 HIGHLANDER In this Issue
INTRODUCING GHC’S INTERIM PRESIDENT DANA NICHOLS 50 & FORWARD: GHC LAUNCHES NEW STRATEGIC PLAN
NEW BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING MANAGEMENT
