Chargers Survive Jets, Advance to GCAA Semifinals

"Survive and advance" is the slogan, and that's exactly what the Georgia Highlands College men's basketball team did Tuesday night in Americus.

For the third straight game, the Chargers found themselves trailing in the second half. Making matters worse, the team's leading scorer, Marquin Thompson (South Gwinnett HS), exited after the opening play with an injury, spending the remainder of the night on the bench with his arm in a sling. Early offensive struggles compounded GHC's woes, as the Chargers' three-point attempts refused to fall, and shots across the board misfired during the game's opening minutes.

Yet the Chargers found a way to survive and advance.

Georgia Highlands clawed back, finally taking its first lead nearly midway through the second half. From there, the teams swapped leads in a tense back-and-forth battle that went down to the wire. Cameron Baldwin (Allatoona HS) stepped up in a big way, pacing the Chargers with 16 points and 9 rebounds. Jay'Quan Nelson (Alexander HS) and Jah'kim Payne (Alexander HS) also delivered key contributions, each scoring in double figures to help GHC secure the win.

Next up for the Chargers are the GCAA semifinals in Waycross this Friday and Saturday. GHC will face a familiar foe in South Georgia State, the tournament's No. 1 seed, at 8 p.m. Friday. The Chargers split their regular season series with South Georgia State, East Georgia State, and Gordon State, winning all of their home games against those teams. With a trip to the finals on the line, the Chargers will look to channel their resilience and keep their postseason run alive.