Derrick Cook is looking to pass the ball. Photo by Catie Sullivan

The GHC men’s basketball team won 88-76 against conference opponent South Georgia State Jan. 12 at home.

The Chargers opened the game slow, trailing by a point, and then took over after that. They would go on a 13-point run and only let South Georgia score 5 points before a timeout at the 15 minute mark.

Khalyl Waters had 5 blocks 3 minutes into the game. By halftime, Waters would have 9 blocks, and the Chargers would go into the locker room with an 18 point lead.

The Chargers would have another slow start in the beginning of the second half, letting South Georgia State score 6 points. After a Derrick Cook 3-pointer, the rest of the team would settle in and start to score. Cook hit another 3-pointer; Waters had a strong dunk off a pump fake around the 16-minute mark. At the 11-minute mark Chris Wright threw an alley-oop off the glass for Waters.

Wright would go on to have 12 assists and 11 points. Waters would finish with a record number of 12 blocks and 24 points.

Philip Gaffney, GHC head coach, said, “The defense was great early on, which is nice considering most of our big guys are out for various reasons. The early defense set the tone and let us get the big lead.”

Gaffney also said, “Chris is an amazing player. His passing is phenomenal and he makes our offense go.”

Waters talked about his record-setting night. He said, “That was just me being there for my teammates and trying to help them defensively.”

Waters also talked about how effective his teammate Wright’s, passing was. “He saves us a lot of energy running up and down the floor, and he is really a blessing for us,” Waters said.

Waters described the alley-oop he caught from Wright, saying, “Chris is a risky player, and I told him to throw it off the glass while we were in transition. You know me. I am going to go and get it,” smiled Waters.

The Chargers will travel to Albany Technical College for their next game on Jan. 16. Then they will be at home on Saturday Jan. 19, at 4 p.m., to take on Gordon College, which is currently the top-ranked team in GCAA Division I.

Lady Chargers won a hard fought conference game against Albany Tech on Dec. 8. GHC opened the game strong leading 18-9 after the first quarter. Albany Technical would fight back, though. GHC would head to the Locker room with only an 8 point lead at the half. The Lady Chargers would open the second half strong scoring 15 points in the third quarter and then 26 in the fourth quarter. Jahnarria Brown ended the game with 16 points and 9 rebounds. The starting five for GHC ended the game with points in the double digits. The final score of the game was 84-63.

The Lady Chargers dominated East Georgia State in a GCAA conference game at Swainsboro, Georgia on Dec. 5. The Lady Chargers ended the first quarter 20-12 and led by 22 points at the half. The final score was 76 to 45. The Lady Chargers led with not only points but with assists, steals and rebounds as well. Jessica Yates scored the most points for either team with 18. She also had five steals with four assists. Sharai Lay finished with 10 rebounds with 12 points.

The Lady Chargers played Salt Lake Community College at the Southern Idaho Classic at Twin Falls on Nov. 1. They fell to Salt Lake 63-79.

Their second game was against College of Southern Idaho. The Lady Chargers also fell to them as well 73-85.

The College of Southern Idaho and Salt lake Community College are both in the NJCAA top 25. The Lady Chargers fell out of the NJCAA top 25 but, they did get some votes.

The Lady Chargers next home game is Saturday, Jan. 12 against Central Georgia Technical College at 2 p.m. at the Corral.

The Lady Chargers next home game will be Jan. 12 against a conference opponent, Central Georgia Technical College.

GHC posted a historical win 145-86 over Atlanta Sports Prep. in a home game on Nov. 28.

The Chargers started the game out strong early 9-2. At halftime the score was 78-38 and Micheal Baez ended the first half leading the Chargers in points and rebounds with 14 and 10. The Chargers shot 55.3 percent from field goal range and 50 percent from three-point range during the first half.

The Chargers ended the game with a historic number of points with 145. In fact, GHC led in all major stat categories with 65 rebounds, 38 assists and 25 steals. Baez ended the game a historic number of 24 rebounds.

Phil Gaffney,  GHC men’s head coach, said, “Well, it was our first game back from Thanksgiving break, Mason Green was out, our leading scorer, Cahiem Brown, was out and V.J. Saxton was also out as well, so that was the hard part but, it was a great game for us to get into shape for the season.”

Gaffney said he was also really glad about seeing Chris Wright with 10 assists, and David Greer had his first game of the season. He played 15 minutes with 14 rebounds and had 13 points.

Chris Wright, guard for GHC, talked about his unselfish play leading the game with 10 assists. He said, “It’s really how I play. I want my teammates to get in to score the game before I do.”

The Chargers also played ABL in a home game at 1 p.m. on Dec. 1. The Chargers won with a final score of 122-87.

The Chargers’ next home game will be Wednesday, Dec. 5, against Preeminence Academy at 7:30 p.m.

Student Life organized a field trip to the Atlanta History Center on Oct. 12 as part of Hispanic Heritage Month. Students at all campuses were invited to participate.

To see photos of the Student Life field trip to the Atlanta History Center, please see the slideshow down below.

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Two GHC basketball players were arrested at the east Rome Walmart on Oct. 7, according to the Floyd County Sheriff’s arrest report as published by the Rome News-Tribune.

Tyler Thornton was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of theft by shoplifting, and Carah Arrant was arrested on a charge of party to a crime.

Phil Gaffney, athletic director and men’s basketball head coach, said of Thornton, “Right now we don’t know much because it is something personal with him. For now we are going to let him deal with it and then go from there to see what needs to be done.”

Gaffney said, “For now he is not playing so he can figure things out and get through that situation, but Nov. 1 is when we find out who will be healthy and able to play.”

Fall sports are back finally in many high schools around the state, which means Friday night lights, band competitions and volleyball nets being tied up.

With events like these beginning once more, it is very important to remember to make sure you still root for and cheer for your high school. Your high school years are what defined you and made you who you are today. It is only right to show a little or a lot of support for your school. It is always great to look back at where you have come from and how far you have come.

It is also a great thing to look where you are now. College sports have a bigger magnitude and there are also more sports offered as well.

At GHC, both men and women’s basketball will be starting soon. Students and alumni should come to cheer for both teams.

It does not take much to be supportive of teams. Even things like wearing high school apparel or showing up to Charger games is just enough.

Phil Gaffney, head men’s basketball coach, recently received the GCAA Division I Coach of the Year award. File Photo.

Georgia Highlands’ men’s basketball coach, Phil Gaffney, was named the GCAA Division 1 Coach of the Year.

On achieving such an honor, he said, “The Coach of the Year is really not just because I did a great job coaching.”

Gaffney continued, “I have a great set of assistant coaches that do a great job in recruiting and helping our players get better every day,” Gaffney said.

“We also got really great players as well,” continued Gaffney.

“I really would love to tell you that it was because I did a great job coaching but, in all honesty, it is really a group effort,” Gaffney said.

“J.J. Merritt, Greg Schiefen and John Williams do a great job preparing our guys and bringing in the guys by recruiting. They also do a great job working with our guys as well,” Gaffney said.

“Usually the Coach of the Year is the coach who wins the most games and we have been fortunate to win the most games every year,” Gaffney pointed out.

“In the end my name is on the award, but it is really an overall group effort,” he said.

Gaffney led this year’s men’s basketball team to a 20-10 record and 13-3 in conference play.

He also led the Chargers to the playoffs but lost in the semifinals.

A.J. Banton tries to dribble around others. Photo by Catie Sullivan

AJ Banton is a guard for the Georgia Highlands Chargers basketball team.

He began to play basketball around five years old after his great grandfather introduced the sport to him.

“It was a super rusty rim, no net and I’m honestly not even sure if there was a back board,” grinned Banton.

“Honestly, I don’t even think I was shooting a ball in it. It was something other than a ball,” laughed Banton.

“My mom was the one who got me to play,” he said.

Banton grew up in Englewood, New Jersey.

He moved to Georgia when he was nine. He has two little sisters and one little brother.

Banton attended a prep school and got injured there. He decided to try for JUCO due to the injury and got in contact with many junior colleges.

He tried out for the Chargers and they liked him, and he was given a scholarship.

Banton said, “I plan to get my degree and hopefully play professionally.”

He also said, “As far as after GHC, I will go wherever the best fit is for me. Wherever I can be a better person, a better student and a better player as Coach Gaffney says.”

As a student of GHC, there are some things he likes and enjoys about the college.

Banton said, “I like how the professors are willing to help.”

He continued, “If you have a question, they are there willing to help every time and the tutoring center is super helpful.”

Banton continued, “The people here in general are totally nice too.”

Gaffney said AJ has been a great player for Georgia Highlands and has several options for his future.

Gaffney said, “I expect him to have a great future in basketball.”

Anna Stewart goes for a free throw at the game on Feb. 5 against Albany Tech. The Lady Chargers won 65-53. Photo by Catie Sullivan

GHC basketball is entering its post season.

As of Feb. 14, the women’s team is 15-12 overall and 10-5 in the GCAA conference.

This puts them third place in the GCAA conference standings.

There are only six games remaining for the Lady Chargers.

According to women’s head basketball coach Brandan Harrell, this means they could climb into that first spot in the conference.

Harrell says to guarantee a spot in the playoffs the women must finish in the top four. If they can, the Lady Chargers will host a first round playoff game on Feb. 27.

According to Harrell, if the Lady Chargers can win that game, they will likely travel to South Georgia Tech for the semifinals and finals which will be on March 2 and March 3.

As of Feb. 14, the men’s team record was 15-7 and their GCAA conference record is 9-1. That conference record places the Chargers in first place.

According to men’s head basketball coach Phil Gaffney, for the men’s division of basketball, there are nine teams.

Gaffney also said the top eight teams make the playoffs. With that said, the Chargers have only nine games left in the regular season. These are all conference games.

If the men’s team can hold to that first spot in the standings, then they will face the number eight seed which is currently Gordon State College at home.

On March 9 and 10, the semifinals and the championship game will be held.

AJ Banton looks for an opening during the game versus Albany Tech. The Chargers won 85-55. Photo by Catie Sullivan