Conway, SC – The Atlantic Collegiate Academy boys' basketball team finished off the regular season on Thursday night by avenging their only loss in region play with a 55-32 victory over Mullins at the ACA Flight Deck.
The victory for the Armada (19-3, 11-1) assures the state's top-ranked team in Class AA home-court advantage through at least the first three games of the SCHSL playoffs, which begin on Tuesday night next week.
In addition to the victory by the Armada boys, the ACA girls' team posted a hard-fought 45-43 victory over Mullins to finish the regular season with a 9-12 record, 6-5 in region play. The Armada will open their first SCHSL playoff appearance on the road Monday night at Timberland (15-10), which lost to Burke last night to finish second in Region 6 behind the Bulldogs. That game is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday.
The ACA JV boys also closed out the year with a victory, downing Mullins 55-23 to finish with a 15-1 record on the season and avenge their only loss of the year.
The ACA girls had their hands full throughout the game against Mullins. The Auctioneers jumped out to a early 6-2 lead, but the Armada quickly rallied and led 15-13 at the end of the first quarter. ACA quickly pushed its advantage to eight points, 21-13, early in the second quarter, but Mullins continued to fight. The Armada took a 25-17 lead into halftime.
Mullins made another run late in the third quarter, hitting a buzzer-beating three-pointer as the period expires to close with 32-31 going to the final period. The Auctioneers opened the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 37-32 lead, but ACA answered with a 6-0 run of their own to go back up 38-37.
The lead changes continued down the stretch before ACA took the lead for good with just over a minute left to play.
"This team found a way to preserve and win a big home game to send our two seniors out in style," ACA coach
Bill Zatulskis said. "
Abby Fusco and
Hannah Goodman left their home schools two years ago to help start this program at ACA. They helped lay the foundation for this program and I cannot thank them enough for their support and efforts in bringing this program forward."
Sophomore guard
Zaniya Blackmon led the Armada with 13 points and picked up three steals. Junior guard
Micah Davis added 10 points and had a team-high seven rebounds. The Auctioneers finished their season with a 7-8 record, 4-8 in region play in fifth place, missing the playoffs.
The opening playoff game against Timberland, which comes in ranked No. 9 in the state in class AA, will be the first meeting between the two programs. The Wolves are led by junior Zion Prioleau with 14.8 points per game while their defense has allowed just 40-8 points per game this season. The Wolves were riding a six-game win streak into Thursday before falling to Burke 50-47.
"We are looking forward to the post season and having a chance to put together a solid effort to make our fans proud," Zatulskis said.
The ACA varsity boys avenged their only region loss of the season by dominating Mullins (17-5, 8-4) on the defensive end of the floor. The Auctioneers managed just nine points in the first half, and just 16 through the first three quarters as the Armada built a 29-point (45-16) lead.
"This was a hard-fought win against a tough and physical Mullins team," ACA coach
Tanner Massey said. "They are one of the best in the state for a reason. I am proud of how we handled their physicality. I'm even more proud of the assignment excellence our players showed defensively. This is one of our best wins on the season."
The Armada held Mullins to just 10-of-55 (18.2%) shooting from the floor in the game. For ACA, senior
Jamie Brooks continued his strong play with 18 points and six rebounds on the night. He was the only player for either team to score in double-figures.
The Armada will open its first SCHSL postseason journey at home on Tuesday night against the Cheraw High Braves (9-14, 5-7) who finished fourth in AA region 4. The game is tentatively set for 7 p.m.
About Atlantic Collegiate Academy: Atlantic Collegiate Academy (ACA), located in Conway, 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 X.
