SMYRNA, Ga. – The Golden Eagles men carried a lead deep into the second half against one-loss Georgia Highlands on Wednesday at the Smyrna Community Center but could not hold on against the GCAA leader and nation’s No. 2 team. Chattahoochee Tech’s 91-85 loss dropped the Golden Eagles to 20-9 overall and 7-8 in league play.
The Golden Eagles opened up a 10-point, 39-29 lead in the final minutes of the first half by holding the Chargers to 12-of-37 shooting and going 4-of-9 from three. Chatt Tech stayed hot into the second period, pushing the biggest lead of the game for either team up to 17 points three minutes in. But Georgia Highlands methodically cut into the lead using pressure defense and took a 77-76 lead with three minutes remaining.
The Chargers shot 22-of-30 from the free-throw line in the second half and won the turnover battle 29-20 for the game. Chatt Tech won the rebounding battle 47-41 with 19 offensive boards. The Golden Eagles had four players in double-figures, with sophomore guard A.J. Mosby (Cartersville) leading the way with 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting to go with three assists and five steals.
Ryan Davis (16 points, 5-of-11 shooting, 3 rebs, 3 asts, 2 stls) and Keith Ray (16 points, 7-of-14 shooting, 2-of-6 3P, 8 rebs, 4 asts) also had efficient shooting nights. Davis (Cartersville) scored 11 in the first half, and Ray (Hillgrove) poured in 14 points in the second to tie for high scorer in the period with Highlands’ Doniel Dean (game-high 21 points). Mosby and Davis each saw 37 minutes of action.
Trevin Steede (Wheeler) came off the bench to contribute 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting and 5-of-8 shooting from the free-throw line with three rebounds and three assists. Arthur Bennett III (McEachern) was 4-of-6 from the field with eight points, nine rebounds and a block. Jordan Oliver (Rabun County) had seven points and seven rebounds, and Corey Tobin (Cartersville) had five points, three rebounds and two steals.
The Golden Eagles women started the night with a 76-52 loss to Georgia Highlands despite 37 points from sophomore guard Aysia Grimsley (Sprayberry). Grimsley added nine rebounds, three assists and two steals. Fernanda Silva (Wheeler) had 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and a game-high five steals for Chatt Tech, which fell to 1-25, 0-15 in GCAA play. Rovianie Bellier (Centennial) added eight rebounds and two steals. The Golden Eagles will play their final regular-season games at home in Smyrna on Sunday, with the women tipping off at 2:30 p.m. against Atlanta Metro and the men following at 4:30. The games will serve as Sophomore Night for eight players across the two teams.
With Wednesday’s loss, the men’s team sits tied for fourth place in the nine-team GCAA with Sunday’s opponent, Atlanta Metro.