Conway, SC – The top ranked Atlantic Collegiate Academy boys' varsity basketball team won its seventh consecutive game on Tuesday night in a 30-point victory over visiting Manning.
The Armada, ranked No. 1 in the SCHSL Class AA, improved to 16-3 overall and 8-1 in region 7AA play. The visiting Monarchs fell to 13-5 overall, 6-3 and tied for second in the region with Mullins. ACA can clinch no worse than a share of its first region title on Friday night when the Armada hosts East Clarendon on Senior Night.
In addition to the victory by the varsity boys, the ACA junior varsity boys' team posted a 51-37 victory over Manning to improve to 12-1 on the year while the Armada girls' varsity took a 43-41 victory, improving to 7-11 overall, including a 5-4 mark in region play.
The Armada boys' varsity put the visiting Monarchs on notice early that it was going to be a long night. Just six days after defeating Manning 70-49, the Armada jumped out to a 10-point lead in the opening quarter on Tuesday. The lead grew to 14 points by halftime.
"Despite the final score, this was a hard-fought win and revealed a few things that we need to improve on," ACA coach
Tanner Massey said. "We knew Manning was going to come in and play hard. They did that, and we didn't respond as well as we needed to. The physicality and tempo of the game was very much like a playoff game."
ACA put the game away with another big run in the third quarter, outscoring Manning 21-9 in the period. The Armada coasted home in the final quarter for the 71-41 victory.
Senior guard
Jaylen Bellamy led ACA with 19 points while also grabbing five rebounds. Sophomore
Seeger Medalie chipped in with 11 points while senior
Jamie Brooks finished with nine rebounds.
With a region title and a berth in the playoffs on the line on Friday, the Armada will have to be ready for to face the emotions of Senior Night while getting a better performance from the Wolverines than they saw back on January 14 in a 63-28 ACA win.
"We have to have great focus and awareness against East Clarendon," Massey said. "We cannot take anyone for granted and we must be prepared for their style of play."
The ACA girls kept their post-season hopes alive with their second victory over Manning in the last week. The game was tight throughout with ACA taking a three-point lead in the opening quarter (12-9) before pushing the advantage to 11 by halftime (25-14). The Wolverines (5-15, 1-8) came storming back in the third quarter, outscoring ACA 17-7 to close to within a single point (32-31) going into the fourth quarter.
The Armada was able to hold on in that final quarter to take the two-point win.
"We played a very tough opponent tonight and Manning gave us all we could handle," coach
Bill Zatulskis said. "Our defensive pressure was the difference."
Junior guard
Micah Davis led the Armada with 16 points and seven rebounds while sophomore
Zaniya Blackmon chipped in with 10 points.
In the boys' junior varsity game freshman
Logan Stack stood out for the Armada, especially late in the game, leading ACA to the victory.
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.
