Lake City, SC – Atlantic Collegiate Academy senior forward
Jamie Brooks posted his sixth double-double of the season on Saturday afternoon, scoring 22 points while grabbing 13 rebounds, to lead ACA to a 72-51 victory over Lake City.
The Armada, ranked No. 1 in the state in class AA and No. 17 overall, improved to 15-3 overall with their sixth consecutive win. ACA is now 7-1 in region 7AA. Lake City fell to 7-6 overall and 4-4 in region play with the loss.
The Armada wasted no time jumping ahead of the Panthers, building a 10-point lead, 19-9, at the end of the first quarter before exploding on a 20-2 run in the second quarter for a 39-11 halftime lead.
"Lake City made us earn this victory," ACA coach
Tanner Massey said. "One thing we have learned is we cannor rest of our laurels. We must keep focused for the entire game. We will continue to work on and improve in that area. I am happy we were able to pull out the victory."
The Panthers made the Armada sweat in the second half, playing ACA even in the third quarter before trimming the deficit by seven points in the final period.
While Brooks led all scorers with his 22 points, the Armada had a balanced attack, getting 15 points from senior guard
Jaylen Bellamy, 13 from freshman point guard
Anton Daniels and 11 from senior
Justin Bellamy. Senior Kenjae Burgess led Lake City with 16 points in the game while senior Devin Cockfield had a double-double of his own with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The Armada will be back in action tomorrow night when they host Manning in a rematch from last week, a game ACA won 70-49.
"Manning will be a great test for us," Massey said. "They just beat a very good Mullins team and will want to build off that victory. We have to be focused and not take them for granted after having just beaten them."
Prior to the Armada varsity boys' victory on Saturday, the ACA junior varsity boys posted a 51-35 win over Lake City to improve to 11-1 on the year.
The ACA girls' varsity followed that game with a hard-fought loss to the Panthers, falling 45-39. The ACA girls fell to 6-11 overall and 4-4 in region play with the loss. Lake City ran its record on the year to 12-4 with a perfect 8-0 mark in region play.
"It was a very physical game on the road against a first place team," ACA coach
Bill Zatulskis said. "We got off to a slow start and that hurt us, but we rallied in the fourth quarter to get within three points with two minutes to play."
The Armada trailed by three, 11-8, at the end of the opening quarter before Lake City pushed its advantaged to six points, 24-18, by halftime. The Panthers continued to grow their lead, taking a 36-27 advantage into the final quarter before ACA made a push late.
Sophomore guard
Zaniya Blackmon led the Armada with 15 points while also grabbing three rebounds and recording three steals. Freshman Ashyra Williams led ACA with 11 rebounds in the game. Lake City was led by eighth grader Hannah Riles with a game-high 20 points.
Play against Manning on Tuesday is scheduled to begin with the JV boys at 5 p.m. The girls' team is scheduled to play at 6:15 p.m. with the varsity boys slated to take the floor at 7:30. ACA will also play at home on Friday night against East Clarendon High for Senior Night. Game times are schedule for 5 p.m., 6:15 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
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.
