Northside Eagles win State Bank Holiday tournament, get new life heading into 2020

In all honesty it’s a tournament title in the early parts of the season, but in truth this is also a breakthrough for an Eagles program that has always had talent but is starting to put that talent -junior point guard Tre Grane, senior forward Jamarcus Thompson, junior center Jordan Brown, senior forward Jacari Saffold- to great use at the right time. “That was huge, a big-time win for the kids, and for the program,” said Eagles head coach Matt Simon. “I know it’s early in the year but to get this team to believe in what we’re trying to do is huge.”

Getting the Eagles to believe that the third time would be the charm after losing two games to the Warhawks by an average of 17 points this season was the sign Simon thought his team needed. I told them to just believe in each other and you’ll be Ok,” said Simon about the slow start his team got off to. Something they had done in the two previous games against Veterans. Northside fell behind by double-digits early on forcing Simon to call a timeout with his team down 12-0. “We missed two layups, missed two open three-pointers, and you look up and we’re down 12-0,” said Simon. 

Veterans, 12-1 overall, led 16-8 after the first quarter and by seven points at halftime. Same old same old. Simon got his team to buckle down defensively during the second half and the game, and quite possibly the team’s future, changed from that point on. Veterans would be held to just 16 second half points from that point on. “We played a little bit of a matchup zone in the second half and that brought us some time to figure things out and get back into the ball game,” said Simon. The Warhawks were held to a season low two points during the fourth quarter. The defensive effort was a season-high for Northside. “We haven’t scratched the surface yet,” acknowledged Simon of his team’s defensive potential. “Games like we are having this year, we would have lost last year. Now we are able to win games this year [so far] because the kids are believing in the coaching staff and believing in each other.”

“Honestly, I can’t even explain the feeling,” said Grane after the game. “It felt crazy defeating that team and this gives us confidence going into the new year.” Grane scored 15 points and dished out 7 assists. Thompson, the team’s leading scorer with a 21 points per game average, also added 15 points. Brown grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds to go with 14 blocks.

Despite only managing eight points during the final quarter, the Eagles were playing at a high level and Simon knows that was going to be necessary to win Monday and from this point forward. “Once we started clicking offensively we were in good shape,” added Simon. “We are already locked in defensively. The sky’s the limit for this team.” 

Friday Northside defeated Crisp County while Veterans opened the tournament with a victory over Monticello. Saturday in the semifinals the Eagles won a six-point game over Druid Hills while the Warhawks defeated host Mary Persons 80-50. 

The two teams met twice before Monday with the Warhawks winning both meetings. December 7 at Northside the Warhawks won 66-55 and 13 days later Northside lost by 23 points on their home court. 

The Eagles, 9-3, will face rival Warner Robins, 11-1, Saturday afternoon (4 p.m.) and though it will be a non-region game it has expectations of being a big game for the Northside program. Even bigger than the rivalry has been in recent seasons. “The guys in the locker room know if we play Northside basketball things we’ll be alright,” said Simon. “A victory could send shock waves throughout the state.” 

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