(The Jacksonville and Cherokee County results were not available at press time).
The top-seeded Golden Eagles (20-7, 6-1) led fourth seeded Hokes Bluff from start to finish. Senior Robert Quinn started out the game with a 3-pointer for the Golden Eagles. With three quick baskets by Tristan Garmon and three consecutive baskets by Deonte Elston the Eagles were quickly up 15-4 and then 17-6 with 1:31 left to go in the first quarter.
Jacksonville coach Anthony Kingston went to his bench and the Golden Eagles led 17-9 at the end of the first quarter.
Jacksonville’s only bump in an otherwise smooth road to victory came in the second quarter when Hokes Bluff outscored the Eagles 13-8 and the Golden Eagles went into the locker room with only a three point edge, 25-22.
The third quarter started out like a track meet. Hokes Bluff scored to come within one, 25-24. But the Eagles from Etowah County could get no closer.
Kingston put in Terencio Delks and he made an immediate impact. For Hokes Bluff, trying to guard Jacksonville’s 6’7” Garmon and speedy and versatile guard Ethan Maske, as well as Deonte Elston, was a tough task in and of itself, but put Delks into that mix and the mission became, well, impossible.
Delks, who has been toning up his skills on Jacksonville’s B-team, proved to be an invaluable commodity underneath the basket. Putting Delks underneath allowed Garmon to float outside, where he can be deadly from the 3-point range.
Delks finished the game for the Golden Eagles with nine points and four rebounds. He was 2-for-2 from the floor and 5-for-5 from the foul line.
On the defensive end of the court, the Eagles played some zone defense forcing Hokes Bluff to try to shoot from the outside. Hokes Bluff shot only 13-of-31 from the field. If the Eagles of Hokes Bluff tried to go inside they were met by Garmon, who had six blocks. Jacksonville’s full court pressure and backcourt traps frustrated Hokes Bluff all game and forced them into 20 turnovers.
Hokes Bluff grew so frustrated that with 1:40 seconds left in the third quarter and down by five points, they held the ball until there were only 15 seconds left. They tried to move the ball inside only to lose it again on yet another turnover.
The Golden Eagles outscored their opponents 27-10 in the fourth quarter to take the 60-38 win.
Elston and Garmon both scored 12 points for the Eagles, with Garmon also accounting for seven rebounds and six blocks.
Delks added nine points, Jordan Shelvin eight points and Maske had six points and six assists.
Also contributing were Robert Quinn, Micah Maxwell and Hunter Green with three points and Josh Willis and Nick Quinn with two points each.
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