St. Francis took control early and answered a second-half flurry from Athens Christian star Will “Turtle” Jackson in a convincing 79-64 win Monday in a Georgia Class A Private semifinal at Kennesaw State.
The battle-tested Knights advance to the championship game and will face the Calvary Day-Whitefield Academy winner Saturday in Macon. Calvary and Whitefield played later Monday night.
Jackson, a junior who has committed to Connecticut, finished with a game-high 31 points, but had only nine in the first half, when St. Francis took command.
St. Francis scored the game’s first 13 points and led by 16 at halftime. The lead ballooned to 22 in the third quarter and the Knights’ plan of irritating Jackson on the defensive end seemed to be working.
St. Francis frustrated the Eagles with their height on the inside and pestered Jackson every possession, following him around the court even on dead balls. He had a running dialogue with fans and at one point told the crowd that, “No one in Georgia can guard me.”
And, during one stretch, he was right. Jackson hit an off-balance, deep 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter and then opened the fourth quarter with eight straight points, including back-to-back 3-pointers. Suddenly, St. Francis’ lead was cut to 10 and the crowd became a factor. But that’s as close as Athens Christian would get.
“He’s a great player,” St. Francis coach Cabral Huff said of Jackson. “We just wanted to stay in front of him, get a hand in his face and make him hit tough shots.”
St. Francis’ promising sophomore guard Kobi Simmons led the Knights with 22 points and added several assists. Chris Steele added 19 points and Kaiser Gates had 17 for the Knights.
Demetrius McWhorter had 23 for Athens Christian. He and Jackson were the only Eagles to finish in double figures.
Huff believes his team is playing its best basketball as it heads to Macon.
“Our schedule really has us ready right now,” said Huff. “Playing (Greater Atlanta Christian), Miller Grove and other powers is really paying off for us right now.”
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