Andrew Jackson High School basketball teams complete season sweeps of York Prep

The Andrew Jackson High School girls’ and boys’ basketball teams got out to large leads early on their way to finishing off season sweeps of York Prep on Friday night.

Both teams continued their undefeated runs in region play.

Girls: Andrew Jackson 74, York Prep 31

Andrew Jackson jumped out to a 31-4 first-quarter lead and the Volunteers ran away with a 74-31 road victory over York Prep on Friday night.

Ayona Alexander, Andrew Jackson’s second-leading scorer (18.5 points per game) and top rebounder (12.6), suffered an injury in the Volunteers’ previous game and was unable to play Friday.

Despite her absence, the Volunteers rolled out to a fast start, turning defensive stops into easy transition baskets in building a 55-18 halftime.

Junior forward Tamia Watkins, the No. 3 player in the state for her class, scored 20 of her game-high 26 points in that first half, while sophomore Ni’Yonna Asbelle added 17.

“I felt like we got out to a very fast start,” head coach Steven Fair said. “I felt like we were knocking down our shots. We’ve been bitten by the injury bug. One of our primary players, she’s out right now for three to four weeks with a stress fracture in her foot. But we came together. Some of the bench girls, they stepped up. We brought some JV girls up, they contributed both offensively and defensively. I think it was a great overall team win.”

Andrew Jackson (17-4, 7-0) extended its win streak to 11 as the Volunteers close in on their fifth consecutive undefeated region title.

With Alexander out, though, Fair wants to see his team commit to addressing one of its biggest weaknesses moving forward.

“We want to rebound the ball collectively as a team better,” he said. “I feel like there’s been some opportunities in other games that were very challenging where we left some rebounds out there, and we should have gotten. We’ve been really working on rebounding the basketball and rebounding drills.”

York Prep (10-9, 6-3) found some offense after a rough first quarter, but was unable to climb back into the game.

Regardless, York head coach Johnathan Wall said he saw an improved effort from his team, and he wants that to continue going forward.

“I think we showed a lot of improvement tonight versus the first time we played against these guys,” Wall said. “We kind of settled down in the second half and just made some plays, but we’re looking for areas of improvement each and every night.

Wall added: “I think we came out (tonight) a little confused, a little low pressure. We had a talk there at halftime. Second half we got to the basket a little bit more. We gave ourselves more opportunities to at least put a few points on the board, so I’ll take that kind of effort every night.”

Center Payton Munsey finished the game with a team-high 11 points, while Gracie Robinson scored 10.

Andrew Jackson will next play rival Buford at home on Jan. 26 at 6 p.m., while York Prep will go on the road to play Chesterfield on Jan. 26 at 6:30 p.m.

Boys: Andrew Jackson 71, York Prep 50

Andrew Jackson (17-3, 7-0) jumped out to a 15-0 lead in the first quarter and withstood a York Prep comeback attempt to pull away with a 71-50 victory.

Though the end result this time around was a lot closer than the first time these two teams met this season — a 92-31 Andrew Jackson win — the game started in much the same way, with the Volunteers shooting the lights out early

Andrew Jackson built a big lead early thanks to knocking down their shots and keeping the Patriots from hitting theirs. The Volunteers also used a relentless full court press that resulted in several points off turnovers and kept York Prep from getting into a rhythm on offense.

Andrew Jackson had three 15-point scorers in the win Friday night: senior Ghaleb Wilson (22), junior Jy’Kevius Johnson (18) and sophomore Zeke Clyburn (15).

“We pride on defense,” Volunteers head coach Danny Wright said. “Our 22 pressure defense that we do, our press, worked really well. The guys were rotating right, and we were able to get them to turn the ball over, and we were able to execute on those turnovers for scores.”

York Prep (12-9, 6-3) pulled to within seven in the second quarter thanks to a 21-13 run of its own, and closed the deficit to 33-24 at halftime thanks to a 3-pointer at the buzzer by senior Makhi Hall.

The Patriots changed their defense, and that created some plays for them that weren’t there in the first quarter.

“The fact was that we decided to go man-to-man,” York Prep head coach Walter Aikens said. “I encourage the guys to step it up and let’s just go all out. We have nothing to lose. So they saw that. They got a little momentum going. They started making some shots. They started getting turnovers. And that kind of got us back into the game where we wanted to be at before halftime.”

The second half belonged to Andrew Jackson. The Volunteers outscored York Prep 38-26 over the final two quarters.

Wilson scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half.

Wright acknowledged playing a region opponent for the second time in a season is always tougher than the first — especially if you won. He challenged his players during halftime.

“It was our turn to make adjustments for the second half,” Wright said. “I told the guys it’s going to come to who wants it the most. Who wants the game the most. And that’s what’s going to happen. I told them when they come out in the third quarter, they got to come out like dogs, and they’re going to have to do it on the defensive end.”

York Prep is still in the driver’s seat for second place in the region. After missing out on the postseason a year ago, the Patriots are now just three wins away from a home playoff game. It’s an opportunity Aikens and his team have set their sights on.

“We have three region games left, all three teams we’ve already beaten once,” Aikens said. “Two are going to be on the road, one is going to be at home. But that’s our goal to win these last three region games, and that will solidify second-place in the region for us, and we’re looking forward to a playoff game.”

Sophomore Braxton Sumter led York Prep with 12 points, while Antwon Young had 10.

Andrew Jackson will next play rival Buford at home on Jan. 26 at 7:30 p.m., while York Prep will go on the road to play Chesterfield on Jan. 26 at 8 p.m.