Canes Fall in State Tournament

The unusual basketball season that was 2020-2021 came to an end for the Jasper County-Monticello High School team in the opening round of the GHSA Class AA state tournament.

The Canes (7-12 overall) fell to Toombs County High School 64-43 last week on the road in Lyons. It was the conclusion to a season filled with COVID-19 concerns, game postponements and cancellations and a season in which there was no region tournament.

After a third-place finish in Region 3-AA during the regular season, the Canes qualified for the postseason before falling to the Bulldogs on Feb. 24.

“This season is still registering with me,” said coach Chris Pennamon. “We got to the state playoffs which is a highlight. The younger players need to know, however, that just getting there is not good enough. Some of our players grew up this season. Some still have some growing up to do. We have to play as a team and run our offense. We can go over it all in the time in practice, but you have to do it in the games.”

The coach said the little things become big in terms of mistakes.

“We can’t throw long passes across the court,” Pennamon said. “We have to know to throw bounce passes. If a coach tells you to do one thing then do that. Overall, I can’t say we underachieved. We were predicted to not win a game in this region. Some even predicted we wouldn’t win a game at all. We finished third in the region and started to see some buy in to what we are doing.”

The Canes dealt with various injuries during the season including some to key players.

“Injuries to some key players hurt us,” the coach said. “Several players were hurt but tried to play through it. Of course, many teams also deal with that. We had more than a two-hour drive to a state tournament game and that plays on your mind. I know the players were talking of their legs and back hurting. It was our longest trip of the season so we had not experienced it before.”

Before the 2020-21 season, no varsity player had been in a state tournament contest. The coach said he hopes the experience this season will help in the future.

“It takes a special way to prepare to play at a high level,” Pennamon said. “The state playoffs are never a guarantee.”

Two key losses will be the graduation of Keon Maddox and Austin Cumbess. The coach described both as “two big time contributors” and noted others will have to fill the roles they leave.

“Next season will be difficult,” Pennamon said. “The region is still going to be strong. Several teams have most of their key players back.”

Landon Bonner will return to Jasper County-Monticello after being the team’s leading scorer as a freshman. Bonner was named to the All-Region team for 3-AA and was runner-up Region Player of the Year.

Kemarion Thomas, Geralynn Benton, Marlerio Stone, Jacarian Grier, Maddox and Cumbess were each honorable mention All-Region.