Manning, SC – A quick turnaround from Tuesday's trip to Marion had no impact on the Atlantic Collegiate Academy Armada on Wednesday night in a road sweep of Region 7-AA foe Manning High in a makeup of games that were originally scheduled to be played on January 10.
The ACA junior varsity boys team got the night started with a 53-36 victory as the Armada improved to 10-1 on the year. The varsity girls followed with a 61-42 victory, improving their season mark to 6-10 overall but, more importantly, 4-3 in region play. The varsity boys closed out the evening by dismantling the Monarchs 70-49 for the Armada's fifth straight win. The top ranked team in Class AA is now 14-3 overall and 6-1 in region play.
After the JV boys won their eighth consecutive game, the varsity girls got back into the win column, thanks in large part to a fast start in the first quarter. The Armada raced out to a 14-point lead, 21-7, in the opening period, and was never seriously threatened throughout the rest of the contest.
"The team played exceptional defense and did a great job on the board," ACA coach
Bill Zatulskis said. "It was a really impressive performance considering they had played an extremely physical game just 24 hours earlier."
ACA's pace slowed in the second quarter, but the Armada led 33-22 at halftime. They pushed their lead back to 14 points, 50-36, in the third quarter before coasting to a 19-point victory.
Sophomore guard
Cayleigh Johnson led all scorers with 15 points while junior guard
Micah Davis added 13 points to go with eight rebounds and three assists. Sophomore
Zaniya Blackmon added eight points while freshman
Ashyra Willis had six points and six rebounds.
The loss for Manning dropped the Monarchs to 5-13 on the season, 1-6 in region play.
The ACA boys' varsity team continued to bully their way through their first season of SCHSL region play. The Armada pulled out to a quick lead, 19-8, in the first quarter and extended their advantage to 33-15 by halftime. The third quarter was all ACA as the Armada outscored the Monarchs 26-12 in the quarter before coasting to the victory.
"This was about as good of a performance as we have had all season," ACA coach
Tanner Massey said. "We executed well on offense and defended our butts off. Everyone contributed to our win tonight against a quality opponent."
ACA finished the night with four players in double-figures scoring, led by senior forward
Jamie Brooks' 16 points. Brooks also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds in the game. Senior guard
Jaylen Bellamy chipped in with 13 points while freshman
Anton Daniels scored 12 and senior forward
CJ Hemingway finished with 10.
The loss for Manning dripped the Monarchs to 11-4 overall on the year, 4-2 in region play.
The Armada will continue with a flurry of games on Friday when all three squads go back onto the road to face off against Lake City. Both ACA boys' teams handled the Panthers easily earlier in the month while the Armada girls dropped a three-point game in the first meeting.
Massey said he expects to get a much tougher challenge from Lake City the second time around.
"Lake City has played well as of late, beating a tough Mullins team on Tuesday," Massey said. "They are a different team now, playing with great confidence. How we handle their defensive schemes will be key, especially with the game in their gym."
Play is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. on Friday with the junior varsity boys followed by the varsity girls and wrapping with the varsity boys game.
About Atlantic Collegiate Academy: Atlantic Collegiate Academy (ACA), located in Myrtle Beach, S.C., serves high school students in a safe, small and family-centered setting. Our students seek the opportunity and challenge of rigorous curriculum, high academic standards and elite athletics while also earning up to two years of college credit. ACA serves students in grades 9-12 using an honors curriculum in 9th and 10 grades with a dual enrollment curriculum in 11th and 12th grades.
Learn more about ACA by visiting our website at AtlanticCollegiate.Academy and by following us on social media on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
