South Georgia Tech defeats Dominican Republic travel team in overtime

The South Georgia Technical College Jets defeated the Dominican Republic Travel Team in overtime, 64 – 61, in a scrimmage Tuesday in the Hangar. The Jets will open the 2024 – 2025 season on the road November 1 in the Northwest Florida Classic in Niceville, FL. They will face Southern Union Community College and Northwest Florida State in that tournament.

The Jets had to outscore the Dominican Republic Travel Team 11 – 8 in a five-minute overtime to capture the win after the Dominican Republic tied the regular game at 53 – 53 with 41 seconds remaining on the clock. Neither team was able to break that tie with a score so the two teams wound up in overtime.

Freshman point guard Zhian Briggs from Augusta, Georgia, scored the Jets first six points in overtime to help them clinch that victory. Aiden Fitzgerald, a 6’ 8” freshman from Perth, Australia, hit a three-pointer and Hendrens Bartelus, a freshman forward from Lake Worth, FL, hit two free throws with 56.6 seconds on the clock to give the Jets the 64 – 61 lead for the win.

The Jets built up a nine-point lead with a little over five minutes remaining in the first half, but the Dominican Republic team rebounded to overcome that deficit and go into half-time with a 27 – 24 lead. The two teams battled in the second half which saw five lead changes and five ties before the regulation game ended tied at 53-53.

SGTC came back in overtime and outscored Dominican 11 – 8 to capture the scrimmage win by three points.

Only two Jets wound up in double-figures on the night and both came off the bench to make their mark. Freshman Aiden Fitzgerald was the top scorer with 14 points and three rebounds in 22 minutes of playing time. Freshman guard Zhian Briggs posted 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals in 18 minutes of playing time.

The remainder of the scoring was pretty balanced. Jordan Dickson, a freshman from Toronto, Canada, came away with eight points, three rebounds, four assists and one steal. Hendrens Bartelus, the freshman from Lake Worth, FL, and Matt Mbole, the freshman center from Yaounde, Cameroon, both had six points on the night. Bartelus had two rebounds, and three assists and Mbole had seven rebounds, one assist and three blocked shots.

Jalexs Ewing, a freshman guard from Augusta, and Matija Vucic, a freshman center from Belgrade, Serbia, both added four points; Darius Willis, a freshman guard from Toronto, Canada; Daryl Bod, a sophomore guard from Paris, France; and Ilich Yacaman, a freshman guard from Orlando, FL, each tossed in three points. Dwight Brown, a a freshman forward from Conyers, GA, closed out the scoring with two points.

The Jets travel to Niceville, FL on Friday, November 1 to face Southern Union Community College at 3 p.m. CST in their season opener and then follow up with a 7 p.m. CST game against Northwest Florida State College in the last game of the Northwest Florida Classic tournament.

They will be on the road again November 6, 7, and 8 for the Shelton State Classic in Tuscaloosa, AL. They are scheduled to play Gadsden State community College, Lawson State Community College and Shelton State Community College in that tournament.

Another tournament November 15 and 16 in Wilmington, NC in the Cape Fear Classic pits them against Brunswick Community College and Cape Fear Community College. The Jets are on the road for two more games in November. They face Tallahassee Community College on November 20 in Tallahassee, FL and Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, AL on November 24.

The Lady Jets also take to the road for their season opener this week. They travel to St. Petersburg, FL for the St. Petersburg Classic where they play Miami Dade College and St. Petersburg College. They travel to Tallahassee, FL on November 8 and 9 for the Tallahassee Community College Classic to take on Eastern Florida State and Tallahassee Community College.

Another road trip to Daytona Beach, FL on November 22 and 23 will see them match-up against Daytona State College and Hillsborough Community College before returning home for the Pete Arrington Thanksgiving Class on November 29, 30, and December 1.