January 24, 2010 — Gordon College men’s basketball coach Israel Ingle kicked his chair a few feet behind the bench after Albany Tech’s 74-70 win Saturday at Albany State. It was the result of frustration at a blown call that could have swung the momentum Gordon’s way. Albany Tech led late, 70-68, as the Titans tried a pass to Dominique Polite that was meant to stay behind the inbounds line so Polite — instead — could throw the ball into play. Instead, when Polite caught the ball, his foot was on the line as the referee failed to blow the whistle. The end result of that play was a layup by Albany Tech’s Wilbur Lake with less than a minute left and the Titans (10-12, 2-4) held on for their second NJCAA Region XVII win in a row. “I think that was a missed call right there, the referees missed a couple of calls,” Titans coach Sylvester Patterson said. “But we have had a couple of bad calls go against us this year, so at least this one went our way.” Ingram, whose father, Tony Ingle coached Kennesaw State to the 2004 NCAA Division II title, was beside himself after the call, arguing with the referees. “The referees just missed it,” Israel Ingle said. “We double-teamed the ball so something like that might happen. They just missed it.” Missing it was the theme offensively as neither team shot better than 35 percent from the field. Patterson, however, was more pleased with his team’s defense. “We were able to make some key stops,” said Patterson, whose team forced 22 turnovers. Jerry Lewis led the Titans with 19 points and seven rebounds, and teammate Justin Wilcox also came close to achieving a double-double with 15 points and seven rebounds. Rontrell Frazier added 10 points for Albany Tech, which is 10-12 overall. Lewis, however, was most effective on offense during the first half, scoring 13 points. “He had a big game, especially in the first half,” Patterson said of Lewis. “He showed up focused and ready to play.” “We played tough and played hard, made our shots and executed on defense,” Lewis added. After the Titans led, 38-35, at halftime, the Titans extended their lead with plays like a two-handed dunk by Polite and a putback by Montravious Marc that made it, 58-48, at the 10:44 mark. Gordon then made its final run, moving within, 68-64, on a 3-pointer by Issac Fisher with 2:14 remaining. A pass from Lake, however, to Lewis for a layup made it, 70-66, and the Titans were on their way to the win.
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ALBANY TECH WOMEN 88, EAST GEORGIA 59:
Former Worth County star Ann Wilcher had a double-double, finishing with 17 points and 19 rebounds during Saturday’s game that was coached by Lady Titans assistant Brandon Dawkins. Albany Tech head coach Kenneth Williams was at a funeral. Wilcher was one of three Albany Tech players with double-doubles, with Quanesha Smith (16 points, 17 rebounds) and ex-Mitchell County star Jasmine Thomas (16, 12) being the other two. After a 49-20 halftime lead, Albany Tech cruised from there. Dawkins said the coaches had stressed getting the ball to Wilcher, who made 13 of her rebounds on the defensive end. “She’s open inside a lot, so it only makes sense to get the ball to her more often,” said Dawkins, whose team is 9-8. Tekiya Sherrod and Mitchell County’s Jasmine Vaughn also scored in double figures for Albany Tech with 14 and 10 points, respectively.