JA holds off Prep to take over first place in district standings
Jackson Academy knocked off rival Jackson Prep in a wild 61-54 win to take over sole possession of first place in the MAIS 6A standings on Tuesday night.
While the Raiders led for a majority of the game, things did get nerve wracking for Jackson Academy, as they saw their 18-point second half lead dwindle down to under five points in the fourth quarter.
One of the main reasons that Jackson Academy was able to hold onto that lead was the performance of their dynamic duo of guards in Caleb Gaitor and Marcus Goodloe. The pair combined for 47 of the team’s 61 points on the night, with Gaitor scoring 26 points and Goodloe scoring 21 points.
“Those two guys have sustained our scoring all season long,” Jackson Academy Head Coach Jesse Taylor said. “I can’t speak highly enough of those two, Caleb (Gaitor) has been our senior leader and Marcus (Goodloe) is following in his footsteps.”
It was a measure of revenge for the Raiders in this one as they had lost 63-50 to Jackson Prep in the earlier matchup between the two teams earlier this season on January 10th at Jackson Prep.
“It’s always going to be a battle when we matchup against them, Coach Allison and his crew are always going to be ready and prepared anytime they step on the floor,” Taylor said. “We only shot the ball at 20 percent in that first game and we knew that wouldn’t be the case every game, but it’s always going to be a battle between JA and Prep, it’s just going to come down to things like winning the rebounding battle and who gets those 50-50 balls and who grinds it out.”
While the two teams split the regular season series, this allowed Jackson Academy to overtake Jackson Prep for sole possession of first place in the MAIS 6A standings, with the Raiders now holding a 6-1 record in district play and the Patriots now falling down to third place with a 5-2 record in district play, after entering the night in first place.
“It’s always a big game for us when it’s JA-Prep, but it was even more important because it was for first place in the standings,” Taylor said. “We control our own destiny now and we just have to keep winning and take care of business going forward.”
With only three district games remaining, every game will matter greatly in the district standings, but Jackson Academy will have control of their own destiny going forward for that crucial one-seed in the state tournament.
As for Jackson Prep, the Patriots now fall into third place behind both JA and Hartfield Academy. After falling to Hartfield earlier in the season, Jackson Prep will have a chance to get revenge and move back into second place on Friday night with a rematch against the Hawks on the road on Friday night.
Jackson Academy will look to continue their winning streak and control first place with a home matchup against MRA on Friday night, who they defeated 45-41 earlier in the season.