The Jenkins High School Warriors took the lead with pressure defense, and then used a guard impervious to pressure to seal a 71-61 victory over Evans High School in the first round of the GHSA Class AAAAA state playoffs.
Jenkins, which led 19-14 at the end of the first quarter, turned up the defensive intensity in the second period to take a 41-28 lead into halftime.
Jenkins (21-8), the No. 2 seed out of Region 3, will take on the winner of Whitewater, No. 1, Region 4, and Hardaway, No. 4, Region 1. Evans, the No. 3 seed from Region 2, finished its season at 23-6.
Jenkins’ coach Bakari Bryant talked about his team’s defense in the second quarter as changing the game, calling “applying pressure” the difference.
“They’re a fundamentally sound team, and they like to slow the game down, but speeding the game up, rushing them into their offense, that was the key to the game — turnovers, getting touches on balls, getting layups. Our defense created our offense tonight,” he explained.
Jenkins took an 11-point lead, 53-42, into the fourth quarter.
To close out the game, the Warriors turned to junior guard Brenden Carter. He finished with a game-high 26 points including nine free throws, nailing 8 of 8 in the game’s final four minutes.
Bryant pointed out that the Warriors’ strategy was to get the ball to Carter, “That was our job — to get the ball in his hands down the stretch of the game because he was hitting his shots.”
Carter, who claimed he did not feel any pressure at the free-throw line, takes a deliberate approach when he gets there.
“Our coaches tell us that we got 10 seconds to shoot, so I just take my time — take a deep breath — and just shoot the ball,” he said.
Carter who also started on the Warriors football team this school year, transferred from Bethesda Academy to Jenkins for the 2012-13 academic year.
“I made the right choice,” he said. “I just wanted to get somewhere with more competition just to play bigger teams, to get myself out there more.”
Jenkins took some time early in the season to hit its stride, but by the 10th game, Carter said he could feel the difference. “It was hard at first, but once we started gelling as a team, it just gets better and better every game,” he said.
Jenkins has won 13 of its last 14 games. Carter is enjoying the ride, explaining that his Warriors “feel unstoppable, like we can beat anybody.”
In fact, the Warriors had to recover from a last-second 60-59 defeat Saturday at the hands of Effingham County in the Region 3-AAAAA championship game.
Bryant was proud of the way his team put that defeat behind them to prepare for Wednesday’s win.
“It tells you about the character of our team,” he said.
EVANS (61)
Marshall 5, Buchanan 9, Damian Foreman 21, Epps 6, K’Lon Lovett 10, Patrick Lawrence 13.
JENKINS (71)
Romaine Gray 11, Brenden Carter 26, Johnson 3, Marquel Perry 10, Lanier 7, Baker 6, Thomas 2, Daniels 2, Polite 2, Harris 2.
Halftime — Jenkins 41-28. Records — Evans 23-6, Jenkins 21-8.