JCCHS’ season ends with loss to Elbert Co.

This time, it was almost a repeat of their first meeting of the season, as the Blue Devils won 72-40.

Jarvis Shaw led the Panthers in scoring with 15 points, while Joseph Smith scored nine and Alex Crawford scored five.

“We played Elbert County much closer the last time,” said coach Britt Beaver. “They played very much like the number one team in the region and they will do very well in the state tournament. We did not handle their pressure well and that is something we struggled with this year. We will work on that this summer. Our leading scorer, Jarvis Shaw is a sophomore and has really stepped up in these last few games.”

The Panthers had several obstacles to overcome, including the loss of their second leading scorer and suffering injuries, coupled with being a young team. Beaver said that really took its toll on the Panthers this season.

“We did compete in many games, but AAA is a tough region. I definitely saw improvement over the course of the season and I believe we were playing our best basketball going into the tournament. We put ourselves in a tough position to advance by having to play the #1 seed in the first round.”

Beaver said his team shot well from the free throw line, shooting 73 percent on the season. He said the younger players on the team gained a lot of valuable experience.

“It is tough to get beat night after night, but our guys will be stronger next year because of it,” he said.

The Panthers will return all their players, including four starters, with the exception of their two seniors, Jonathan Baxter and Will Wolter. He also said he looks forward to players who suffered injuries this season returning next year.

For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Jackson Herald or The Braselton News.