BASKETBALL HOUNDS
Postseason run ends in semifinal loss to region foe Eagles Landing
Less than 14 miles separate Jones County’s campus and the Macon Coliseum.
A second-half comeback on Friday in Carrollton nearly got the Greyhounds a spot in this week’s GHSA Class AAAAA boys state championship game, but the Greyhounds would in the end fall 66-54 to Eagles Landing.
The end of Jones County’s postseason road came with a familiar pattern – an innate desire to bounce back. The Greyhounds, who beat a pair of No. 1 seeds and a No. 2 seed on the road to advance to the Final Four, showed that same resilience against Eagles Landing, going from being down by 17 points to just three with 5:00 to play. Eagles Landing did what it needed in the final span, putting the game away to end the Greyhounds magical postseason run, their first semifinal appearance since 1978.
“To be down 17 and cut it to three with five minutes to play, that was a heck of an effort. We just had a few mishaps, and you can’t have those against Eagles Landing. That’s one of the reasons they’re in the championship for the third year in a row,” Greyhounds head coach Buck Harris said. “We’re just so proud of the kids for how they played and competed, and we’re proud of the community of Jones County for being able to witness what this group was able to do.”
That group included a pair of seniors – Jaylen Sanford and Daethan Harris.
After being on teams that lost in the first round in the state tournament and fell short of the state tournament the past two years, the duo was at the forefront of the Greyhounds postseason run.
“For Jaylen and Daethan to be four-year guys and as freshmen make it to the tournament and us get knocked out in the first round and as sophomores and juniors not making it out and now be a four seed and beat two one seeds and face a team like Eagles Landing with a chance to play in the championship game, it’s just tremendous for those guys,” Harris said. “I could not be more proud of how they competed and gave themselves a chance.”
Sanford and Harris are the only two seniors that Jones County will lose to graduation, leaving Jaden Stanley, Kaden Douglas and Judd Anderson as returning starters heading into the offseason along with Geo Wade and Tay Lattimore.
“If they put in the work and work on getting bigger, faster and stronger, spend time in the gym, they have a chance to be back there,” Harris said. “The guys coming back, they have to be dedicated in both the gym and classroom.”
