RICHMOND HILL – Effingham County will get its rematch with Jenkins, but it didn’t come as easily as the final score may indicate.
Effingham County (19-8) shrugged off a slow start to knock off pesky Bradwell Institute, 68-45, Thursday night to gain a shot at Jenkins (23-2) for the Region 3-AAAAA tournament championship.
The top-seeded Warriors dominated the Rebels in two regular season games in winning the Region 3-AAAAA race. The two meet Friday at 8 p.m. for the region tournament after getting wins Thursday night. Jenkins reached the championship game by defeating host Richmond Hill.
Coach Donnie Arrington’s team led 29-20 at the intermission in a somewhat lackluster half, but broke it wide open in the third quarter. The win assured Effingham County of a home game when state tournament play begins next week.
“We’ve put a team together about four times,” Arrington said after the game, alluding to injuries and a two-game suspension for star forward JaKeenan Gant which have forced him to juggle his lineup.
Gant returned to action against Bradwell after missing the Rebels’ last two games after being ejected from a game due to drawing two technical fouls . He was also sidelined late in the season with an ankle injury.
The Tigers showed no backdown as they battled the heavily favored Rebels to a 10-10 draw in the opening quarter and trailed 16-13 midway through the second quarter before Effingham started settling down and getting into a rhythm.
The Rebels outscored Bradwell 13-7 in the final four minutes of the half to establish control with a 29-20 halftime advantage, and then stepped it up in the third quarter against the smaller Tigers.
“The stakes are a little higher now,” Arrington said, alluding to some possible early jitters by his team. “Switching to the zone helped us in the second half. We did a better job of rebounding and getting out and running.
“It was a little disappointing (of the early game performance), but we put ourselves in position to play tomorrow. We assured ourselves of a home game, and now have the chance to play for a region championship.”
Malcolm Dingle hit a foul shot for the Tigers in the opening seconds of the second half, and from there on it was all Effingham County.
The Rebels, who had excellent scoring balance as four players reached double figures, scored the next 12 points to take a 41-22 lead. Bradwell was never able to recover.
Effingham County scored the final pour points of the third quarter for a 54-29 lead, and had its biggest lead at 27 points with 4:25 to play when it scored six straight points to make it a 62-35 game.
Kyle Owens had 17 points to lead the Rebels while Mondre Green and Andre Brown scored 12 each, and Gant added 11.
Jenkins, of course, will represent a different challenge as the Warriors were the dominant team in the region during regular season play.
“Jenkins is a real good team, and they’re deep,” Arrington said. “I feel we can make a run in the state playoffs, too.”
BRADWELL INSTITUTE (45): Stokes 9, Hill 9, Malcolm Dingle 10, Williams 2, Harris-Bennett 7, Harris 6, Baker 2.
EFFINGHAM COUNTY (68): Reid 3, Kyle Owens 17, JaKeenan Gant 11, Mondre Green 12, Kisng 2, Morris 2, Andre Brown 12, Wilkenson 5, Rodriguez 1.
Halftime: Effingham 29-20. 3-Pointers: Bradwell—Donte Harris 2; Effingham—Deshaun Wilkenson. Records: Effingham 19.8; Bradwell 15-12.