Athletes Beyond Bartow: College basketball closing in on post-season
With conference basketball post-season tournaments just around the corner, local athletes continue to make contributions with their teams across the country. Cass High graduate Jacquez Fountain scored 30 points for Albany Tech in his only game last week while Adairsville High product Nakiyah Washington poured in 23 points, collected eight rebounds and made eight steals for Piedmont College. This update also includes former local high school athletes contributing at the college level with their track and field teams.
For college baseball and college softball updates for the week ending February 23, please see this previous update. -- ATHLETES BEYOND BARTOW: Howard debuts with Pirates, Welchel gets first college hit
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Jacquez Fountain (Albany Tech Fr., Cass) — Fountain made the most of his singular game last week, pouring in a game-high 30 points in a 79-67 home loss to Georgia Highlands. Fountain made 12 of 21 field-goal tries, including shooting 5-for-11 from beyond the arc. He added eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
Ashton Hagans (Kentucky So., Cartersville native) — Hagans totaled 18 points, eight assists, five rebounds and three steals in wins over LSU (79-76, Tuesday) and Florida (65-59, Saturday).
Whitney Harris (Toccoa Falls So., Woodland) — Harris ended up with eight points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal in a 74-58 defeat Thursday against Trinity Baptist. She also scored nine points to go with two steals, one rebound and one assist in a 97-41 loss Saturday to Pensacola Christian.
Carter Hedden (Hocking So., Cass) — Hocking fell in the Region XII championship game to Columbus State, ending the season at 18-14. Hedden played seven minutes in the title game, recording one steal in that time.
Evan Lee (Northland Fr., Excel) — Lee contributed two points in a 70-51 victory Saturday over Lake Superior. Northland earned the No. 2 seed for the Region XIII tournament and will face Riverland Thursday.
Kimora McClinic (Middle Georgia State Jr., Cartersville) — After not seeing the floor in an 81-70 defeat Thursday against William Carey, McClinic saw a season-high 20 minutes in a 102-57 loss Saturday at Loyola. She scored seven points, dished out two assists and grabbed one rebound.
Coriana McDaniel (Andrew Fr., Adairsville) — McDaniel recorded one steal in five minutes of a 63-55 loss Saturday to East Georgia State. Andrew and East Georgia State will meet again today in the Region 17 quarterfinals.
Kyla Michienzi (Piedmont R-Fr., Cass) — Michienzi played seven scoreless minutes off the bench in a 78-63 home victory Saturday over Averett in the quarterfinals of the USA South tournament. Piedmont will face William Peace in the semifinals Saturday in Berea, Kentucky.
Jana Morning (Berry Jr., Cass) — Morning concluded her season with 10 points in Berry's 64-53 loss Sunday to Centre in the quarterfinals of the Southern Athletic Association tournament. She also finished with a pair of assists and a pair of steals.
Jaylon Pugh (Furman So., Cartersville) — Pugh sank a key 3-pointer on his only shot attempt in six minutes of a 67-66 win Saturday over Wofford. The trey tied the score at 54-all with 6:16 to go in the second half, as the Paladins remained one game back of East Tennessee State for the top spot in the Southern Conference.
Josie Summerville (North Park So., Adairsville) — North Park dropped its final two games of the regular season and will take a four-game losing streak into the first round of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin tournament today. In those two defeats, Summerville totaled eight points, seven rebounds two assists, one block and one steal. Third-seeded North Park will face No. 6 seed North Central in the opening round.
Darius Thrower (Truett McConnell Sr., Excel Christian) — Thrower scored 11 points with four rebounds and two assists in a narrow 72-68 setback against then-No. 25 Union. He struggled in an 89-69 win Wednesday against Point, but he bounded back in a major way to finish his career with a 22-point effort Saturday against Kentucky Christian. After shooting 1-for-7 from 3-point range in the Point victory, Thrower sank 6-of-7 shots from deep in Saturday's 98-93 overtime defeat. He added two rebounds, one block and one steal.
Nakiyah Washington (Piedmont Fr., Adairsville) — Washington scored 18-plus points for the fourth straight game in helping the Lions advance to the conference semifinals. She finished with 23 points, while shooting 8-for-20 from the field, 1-for-2 from deep and 6-for-10 from the foul line. In addition to her team-high points, Washington added eight rebounds and eight steals, while chipping in one assist and one block.
Carrod Watson (North Georgia Sr., Woodland) — Watson had a quiet night in a 92-65 loss Wednesday to Augusta, finishing with just two points, three rebounds, and one steal. He was much more productive Saturday against Georgia College, totaling 10 points, three rebounds, three steals, one assist and one block in a 78-77 overtime defeat.
Breeana Wilson (Georgia Highlands Fr., Adairsville) — Wilson posted two rebounds in a 72-46 win Wednesday over Albany Tech. She was not credited with any stats in a 67-59 victory Saturday over Lawson State.
TRACK AND FIELD
Terry Berdin (Reinhardt So., Cartersville) — Berdin placed 13th in the finals of the men's 200-meter dash last week at the Appalachian Athletic Conference Indoor Championships.
Parker Breedlove (Reinhardt Fr., Cartersville) — The Eagles came in fifth in the men's 4000-meter distance medley relay, as Breedlove ran the team's second leg of 400 meters in 54.082 seconds at the AAC championships.
Trevor Knowles (Albion Jr., Woodland) — Knowles finished sixth in the high jump Saturday at the Hillsdale Tune-Up.
— contributions by Nicholas Sullivan, The Daily Tribune News
