Canes Fall in GHSA State Tourney

The Jasper County-Monticello High School boys basketball team ventured a long way from home last week for the opening round of the GHSA Class AA state tournament.

The Canes fell 66-44 at Thomasville despite a 23-point effort by Chaydon Stone. The loss concluded the 2021-22 season for Jasper County-Monticello with an 11-18 record.

“We have tried to put it out of our minds,” coach Chris Pennamon said. “Of course, you can’t. We just didn’t get the job done.”

The coach said the game plan was solid going into the contest. Kemarion Thomas and Randy Williams both scored seven points.

It took a couple minutes before either team put any points on the board. The Canes trailed 10-6 after the first quarter but a 15-2 run by Thomasville in the game’s second eight minutes turned the tide of the contest.

We just were hurt by inexperience even though we made it to tournament last year,” Pennamon said. “After the second quarter we got down on ourselves. We got rattled when we would miss attempts.”

One positive for Jasper County-Monticello was the fact it ended the game on a 17-2 run.

“It is tough take positives from a game you get manhandled in for the most point,” Pennamon said. “It was still a successful season. It was not a winning season like you would like but we still had double digits win.”

The Canes also went 8-5 in Region 3-AA this season. Next season will see a new region for the program.

Several key players will return including Thomas, Williams, Geralynn Benton, Jacarian Grier and Eilijah Terrell.