Athletes Beyond Bartow: College basketball accolades and a career high for locals

This week's 'Athletes Beyond Bartow' update for college basketball, swimming, tennis, and track & field includes accolades, career highs, and runs in post-season tournaments. Former Cass standout Jacquez Fountain was named GCAA Freshman of the Year. North Georgia senior Carrod Watson, who played at Woodland, scored his career high in a recent Peach Belt Conference game, and former Adairsville standout Nakiyah Washington received all-conference honors in USA-South Athletic Conference.

(L-R) Jacquez Fountain, Carrod Watson, Nakiyah Washington

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Jacquez Fountain (Albany Tech Fr., Cass) — Fountain didn't have his best shooting week, hitting just 33% of his attempts from the field in both games, but he helped lead Albany Tech to a pair of wins nonetheless. He finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds in an 80-73 win over Southern Georgia Tech before posting 21 points and nine boards in a 73-60 triumph over South Georgia. Monday, he was named the GCAA Freshman of the Year, along with landing spots on the all-region first team and all-freshman team.

Ashton Hagans (Kentucky So., Cartersville native) — Hagans totaled 15 points, 12 assists, seven rebounds and four steals in wins over Texas A&M (69-60, Tuesday) and Auburn (73-66, Saturday). The Wildcats have now won 12 of their last 13 games, including avenging the only loss in that stretch with their most recent victory.

Whitney Harris (Toccoa Falls So., Woodland) — Harris racked up nine points and seven rebounds in a win Thursday over Johnson University (Florida) in the first round of the NCCAA Division II South Region tournament. She added nine points and three boards in a 68-47 loss Friday to Pensacola Christian in the tourney semifinals.

Kimora McClinic (Middle Georgia State Jr., Cartersville) — McClinic played 10 minutes and scored two points with one rebound and one assist in an 82-41 loss Thursday to Martin Methodist.

Coriana McDaniel (Andrew Fr., Adairsville) — McDaniel saw 17 minutes of game time off the bench Tuesday in the opening round of the GCAA tournament. She finished with 10 points, two rebounds and one assist in a 74-49 loss to East Georgia State.

Kyla Michienzi (Piedmont R-Fr., Cass) — Michienzi finished with 13 points, two rebounds and a steal in Piedmont's 59-49 win Saturday over William Peace in the semifinals of the USA South conference tournament. She managed just three points in a 66-58 loss Sunday to Berea in the tournament championship game.

Jaylon Pugh (Furman So., Cartersville) — Pugh saw action in both of Furman's double-digit wins this past week. He missed all three of his shot attempts in an 81-67 win Wednesday at UNC-Greensboro. Saturday, Pugh bounced back to score five points with one assist in nine minutes of an 82-58 rout of The Citadel. Furman earned a bye in the Southern Conference Championship and will face either Wofford or The Citadel in the quarterfinals at 6 p.m. Saturday in Asheville.

Josie Summerville (North Park So., Adairsville) — Summerville compiled five points, two rebounds and two steals in North Park's 91-84 loss to North Central in the first round of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin tournament.

Nakiyah Washington (Piedmont Fr., Adairsville) — Washington racked up 25 points, nine rebounds, two blocks, one assist and one steal in the victory over William Peace. A second-team all-USA South West Division selection, Washington added 11 points, four boards and two steals in the title game.

Carrod Watson (North Georgia Sr., Woodland) — Watson had quite the week. After a scoreless seven-minute stint in a 77-65 loss Wednesday to Young Harris, Watson went off for a career-high 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting. He also racked up nine rebounds and two steals in a thrilling 113-104 double-overtime win Saturday over Clayton State. North Georgia will head Wednesday to UNC-Pembroke for the Peach Belt Conference quarterfinals.

SWIMMING

Rylee Moss (Old Dominion Fr., Adairsville) — Moss won the "B Final" in the 400-yard individual medley at the Conference USA Women's Championship this past weekend at Georgia Tech. Moss finished in 4 minutes, 25.22 seconds — faster than one of the competitors in the "A Final." The former Adairsville star placed 10th in the prelims but shaved more than 4 1/2 seconds off her time in the finals. Moss also competed in the 100- and 200-yard butterfly. The freshman came in 20th in the 100 prelims and 24th in the finals (eighth in the "C Final"). She came in 14th in the 200 prelims at 2:04.25, but results of the 200 finals were not available.

TENNIS

Houston Medlock (Piedmont So., Adairsville) — Medlock eased to a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Dylan Masters at No. 3 Singles in a 6-3 win over Pfeiffer Sunday in Demorest. Medlock and No. 1 Doubles partner Chris Bale fell 8-4, but the Lions won the other two doubles matches to still secure the point.

TRACK AND FIELD

London Shaw (Jacksonville State Fr., Cartersville) — Shaw competed in the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Championships last week in Birmingham, Alabama. She topped out at 12.21 meters in the shot put and 13.07 in the weight throw.

Trevor Knowles (Albion Jr., Woodland) — Knowles finished in the top-five in all three jumping events at the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Indoor Championship Saturday in Angola, Indiana. He placed second in the triple jump, while coming in fifth in both the long and high jump events. NOTE: A separate report for college softball and baseball may be viewed at this LINK. --- contributions by Nicholas Sullivan, The Daily Tribune News