Sandy Creek wanted to send a message in Friday night’s Class 3A semifinal against Hart County. Message sent.
The Patriots (28-4) jumped out to a 16-3 lead after the first quarter and poured it on from there en route to an 87-56 win over Hart County (24-4).
Sandy Creek head coach Jon-Michael Nickerson said even though this was a game to decide one of the two teams to advance to the state finals, he wasn’t surprised by the score.
“We’re tougher, we’re bigger, we’re stronger, we’re more athletic [than Hart County],” Nickerson said. “If you look at our record, we’ve done this to a lot of teams in Class 3A this season.”
Indeed, prior to Tuesday’s 68-59 win over Johnson-Savannah in the quarterfinals, no other team in 3A had come within double digits of the Patriots. Nickerson said his team wanted Hart County and the rest of the state to know just how good they are.
“We’re physical and we play hard,” Nickerson said. “Sandy Creek has never been to the finals before, and so this group of seniors got together and decided that this was it, this was the year.”
In fact, three seniors led the charge for Sandy Creek as forward Jabari Smith led all scorers with 30 points, forward Deshon Proctor had 20, and guard Shane Erkins came off the bench to score 16. The 6-foot-10 Smith, who has signed with Auburn, got out of the gate fast with nine points in the first quarter to ignite the 13-point advantage the Patriots held after the first quarter, as their length, quickness and full-court pressure kept Hart County on its heels all night.
“They were the No. 2 team in the state,” Nickerson said of the Bulldogs, who had been on a 14-game winning streak themselves. “But we just knew we were the much better team.”
Sandy Creek doused all thoughts of a dramatic comeback when they went on a 9-0 run to start the third quarter. Senior guard Myles Rice, a Washington State signee, led the way with five points during the run. The Patriots went on to outscore Hart County 18-4 in the quarter to lead 53-24 heading into the final period.
Junior guard Johnny “JC” Curry scored 18 of his team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs scored 32. Sandy Creek scored 34.
Nickerson knows he has one of the most talented teams in the state. But he said the Patriots will have to take another step in order to seal the deal and bring home the school’s first state championship in basketball.
“We have to cut down on our turnovers, just cut down on simple mistakes that we make,” he said. “This is a special team.”
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