>> JOHN MILLEDGE ACADEMY
The John Milledge Academy (JMA) boys’ basketball team traveled up to Athens last weekend to take on Monsignor Donovan for its 13th game of the season.
The Trojans found themselves down big early in the first half but ended up battling all the way back to beat the Rams 73-71 on a buzzer-beater.
John Milledge Academy head coach Mitch Risley couldn’t have been prouder of his team after the game.
“We’ve had a really good past two weeks with the exception of the first half of the Monsignor Donovan game being down 25 at half, but we battled back and ended up coming out on top on a buzzer-beater from Jalan [Butts],” Risley said. “It was a good test going up there and playing at their place. Our guys showed a lot of heart and character in being willing to battle and come back from that large deficit.”
Both teams opened the game very aggressively on defense, and quality shots came few and far between in the first quarter.
Trojans’ senior Briggs Eady started his night with two 3-pointers backto- back in the first couple minutes and kept JMA slightly ahead in that timespan.
Eady ended the game with 22 points on 7-for-12 shooting, which was the second highest on the team for the night.
By the end of the first quarter, Monsignor Donovan’s full-court press was causing problems for JMA’s offense. The Trojans turned the ball over multiple times at the beginning of the game, which allowed the Rams to gain momentum heading into the second quarter.
The second quarter was all Monsignor Donovan as JMA struggled to move the ball down the court consistently.
The Rams were able to score multiple easy baskets just by getting blocks and getting out in transition afterwards. Monsignor Donovan had five times as many blocks as JMA did, but the Trojans ended the night with double the steals the Rams had.
Risley attributed the comeback victory to the team’s resiliency to stay in the game even when they were down big.
“It was a good test going up there and playing at their place,” Risley said. “Our guys showed a lot of heart and character in being willing to battle and come back from that large deficit.”
All that defensive work brought John Milledge Academy back in the game, and it was largely due to the performance of Butts.
Butts started the contest off slow with only a couple of made shots, but after the team came out of the locker room for the second half, he turned it on. Butts finished the game with a team-high 25 points, and made the game-winning shot for the Trojans as the clock struck zero.
Risley acknowledged how big that moment was for the team and for guys like Briggs and Butts as they helped lift JMA over Monsignor Donovan to stay perfect on the season.
“Our two main scorers, Jalan and Briggs, have been carrying a big load and have helped us out in some key moments,” Risley said. “They’ve been playing really well and have inspired our team to do well. Coming back from 25 points down was a big-time performance from our guys.”
With the win, JMA moves 13-0 on the season and 2-0 in region play.
Up next, the Trojans will have four more region games during the month of January with the next coming against Stratford Academy this Tuesday.