Middle Georgia Technical College

MGTC Titans Take Second in TCSGAA Basketball Tournament

Chattanooga -Middle Georgia Technical College Head Coach Bobby Brown and members of the Titans Basketball Team traveled to Chattanooga, Tennessee this past weekend to participate in the Technical College System of Georgia Athletic Association (TCSGAA) Men’s Basketball Tournament. The Titans came away with a second-place finish to become the first-ever TCSGAA conference championship runners-up.

“We are very proud of our men’s basketball team for their great showing at the recent playoffs,” said Bruce Foster, director of Student Support Services at MGTC. “This is only our second year of fielding a club sports team and it is the first for organized conference playoffs in our system. We are extremely excited to have competed well and we congratulate each of our players and coaches for a job well done.”

The Titans finished second in the regular season standings to advance to the Conference Tournament, which was held at Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga, just across the Georgia line. The Titans entered as the second seed and played in the semi-finals game against Georgia Northwestern Technical College Mustangs and were victorious with a close score of 77-74. This win allowed the Titans to advance to the title game against the Chattahoochee Technical College Golden Eagles.

In the semi-finals contest, MGTC had five players score double figures including Jaquez Clarington with 19 points; Sheridan Thomas and Mike Ingle, both with 12 points; and DeAndre Hall and Jeremy Bradshaw, both with 11 points

Saturday’s title game proved to be a tough battle for the Titans. In the first half, the Titans came out with an early lead and would hold on to the lead through much of the first half. However, late in the half, the Golden Eagles snatched the lead away and would not surrender it. At the half, the Golden Eagles led 44 to 37.

The start of the second half did not prove as fruitful for the Titans as four team members fouled out of the contest and the Eagles pushed their lead to more than 20 points. The Titans fought hard to regain the lead but the Eagles were able to outlast the Titans’ run.  The Golden Eagles ended the Titans five-game winning streak and took home the first-ever TCSGAA conference title as MGTC was forced to settle for runners-up.

MGTC also had five players put up double digits in this round of play including Mike Ingle with 20 points, Brandon Whitehead with 19 points; Sheridan Thomas and Jaquez Clarington, each with 11 points; and DeAndre Hall with 10 points.

After the title game, several MGTC players received special conference honors. Ingle and Hall were both named to the TCSGAA All-Conference Team. Ingle was also named to the TCSGAA All-Tournament First Team and Clarington was named to the All-Tournament Second Team. Thomas, Bradshaw, and Whitehead all received Tournament Honorable Mentions.

“I am very proud of our young men and how well they represented MGTC this year,” said Brown. “We are also thankful for the support we have and received from the MGTC faculty and staff and the local community. Many of our players will return for next season and I know we will be a team on a mission.”

MGTC began its club sports program in Fall 2008 with men’s and women’s basketball and cheerleading. Co-ed soccer was added in Spring 2009. For more information on MGTC and its Club Sports program, call 478.988.6800 or log on to www.middlegatech.edu. Also, follow MGTC on Twitter and Facebook. Apply now for Spring Quarter. Classes begin April 6.

Photo: MGTC's Jaquez Clarington goes for a shot in the TCSGAA Tournament finals against Chattahoochee Technical College