Basketball team featured in two national magazines

The Georgia Highlands College Chargers men’s basketball team caught a little more national recognition in the past few months, having been featured in both the Basketball Times and Sporting News.

Basketball Times gave GHC a full page review titled “From zero to Hutchinson in just three seasons” in its August issue. The article details the Chargers quick rise and how the team and its coaches were able to do it.

Additionally, in its most recent issue, Sporting News ranked GHC’s basketball team as one of the top 10 NJCAA teams in the country, expressing that the team’s grit and passion was its formula for success.

The extra exposure comes from a Final Four run in March. Not many in Kansas had expected the #19 nationally ranked Georgia Highlands College Chargers men’s basketball team to make it very far in the NJCAA Division 1 National Championship Tournament.

The Chargers went head-to-head against Kansas-local Butler Community College (#7 nationally ranked) in its first step to the Final Four, winning a back and forth affair by two points, with a final score of 88-86.

Next, the Chargers earned a spot in the Elite Eight by taking down Southern Idaho College (#3 nationally ranked) with an unbelievable late game timeout, where a play was drawn up to hit a game-winning three point shot with five seconds left on the clock. It worked. The final score was 67-66.

Third game into the tournament, the Chargers found themselves not only fighting against Kansas’ hometown favorite Hutchinson Community College, but also against the over 7,000-person crowd they drew. Against the roar of “defense, defense,” as the Chargers pushed the ball down the court, the Chargers defeated Hutchinson with a final score of 64-59.

Surging into the Final Four, the Chargers looked to win their match against Northwest Florida State College (#5 nationally ranked) for a spot in the finals. The team fell short by only two points in overtime with a final score of 105-103.

GHC President Don Green said that the Chargers epitomize what Georgia Highlands College is and what it offers.

“We are proud of our athletes and their success,” he said, “but the willingness to give all you can to compete and complete is embodied in all of our students. That is why we have one of the best retention rates in our sector of Georgia colleges. All of our students possess the same qualities our basketball team is showing.”

After the Chargers’ impressive display in Kansas, two GHC chargers made the list of the 12 on the All-Tournament Team, which honors those players who are considered to have performed the best in the tournament. Those players were: Montreal Goldston and Ty Toney.