Clarke Central High School boys varsity basketball player La’neric Gill, a senior, jumps to make a layup during the Gladiators’ 77-60 loss to Maynard Holbrook Jackson High School on Feb. 21 in the Competition Gym. Gill’s shot was one of just 20 points the Gladiators scored in the first half, creating a 23-point halftime deficit the team never recovered from. “It started at practice. We didn’t really show up to practice a lot, were playing around at practice and that translated to the game. We started off slow and we didn’t come back until the end and there wasn’t enough time,” guard Amun Harris, a senior, said. “It just doesn’t feel real.” Photo by Aza Khan
In the first round of the GHSA playoffs on Feb. 21, the first-seeded CCHS boys varsity basketball team were upset by fourth-seeded Maynard Holbrook Jackson High School 77-60.
The Clarke Central High School boys varsity basketball team lost 77-60 to Maynard Jackson High School in the first round of the Georgia High School Association playoffs on Feb. 21 in the Competition Gym.
The Gladiators were fresh off of winning the Region 8-AAAAA Championship 65-60 over Winder Barrow High School, but were quickly put to the sword by their opponents, who jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first ten minutes.
“I knew we were playing a tough four seed. I knew they could shoot the basketball (because) I went to watch them Saturday,” CCHS boys varsity basketball coach Stefan Smith said. “I understood that we had to play our best game to win this and we didn’t play our best game at all.”
Throughout the first half, the Gladiators struggled on offense, mustering just 20 points by halftime. By contrast, their opponents were clinical from outside the arc, knocking down several three-pointers to go up 43-20 at halftime.
“It started at practice. We didn’t really show up to practice a lot, we were playing around at practice and that translated to the game,” guard Amun Harris, a senior, said. “We started off slow and we didn’t come back until the end and there wasn’t enough time.”
CCHS boys varsity basketball coach Stefan Smith yells at his team after they went down 10-0 inside the first two minutes of their playoff game against Maynard Holbrook Jackson High School in the Competition Gym on Feb. 22. The Gladiators eventually lost 77-60, never making up that first half deficit. “I knew we were playing a tough four seed. I knew they could shoot the basketball (because) I went to watch them Saturday. I understood that we had to play our best game to win this,” Smith said. “We didn’t play our best game at all.” Photo by Aza Khan
CCHS came out fast in the second half, and consecutive three pointers from point guard La’neric Gill and forward Tom Gilley, seniors, pulled the Gladiators within 12 points of the Jaguars. But, that was as close as the team would get, as MHJHS controlled the game’s final minutes and walked off the court with an upset victory.
“He told us, ‘Come out here with more intensity and stop shooting so many deep threes.’ We did that and we started to come back,” Harris said. “Tom hit that three in the corner and then (Gill) hit that buzzer beater in the third. I thought we was gonna come back after that, (but) it didn’t give us (enough) momentum.”
The loss ended the Gladiators playoff hopes at the first hurdle, but Smith believes the team can still be proud of their season.
“Region champs, you can’t take that for granted. Those are special. We won three out of the last four, so that is special, but now we got to work on how to get better at playing state teams,” Smith said. “We just got to work on being better in the state playoffs.”
