Lady Titans return from break with loss; men lose heartbreaker on road

ALBANY — Albany Tech’s women will play their first-ever region contest at home Saturday against Georgia Perimeter.

Knowing that, coach Kenneth Williams said he had cause for concern after his team’s 59-44 loss Wednesday to St. Petersburg College. His team appeared to show little emotion on the floor, only made 3-of-10 free throws and committed 21 turnovers.

Meanwhile, St. Petersburg made nine 3-pointers.

“We were flat, showed no energy at all,” Williams said. “I warned them about it, and they still came out like that. We got out-hustled.”

The game, featuring two teams nicknamed, “Lady Titans,” featured two strong early runs by St. Petersburg and that set the tone for the rest of the first half. The second run, which gave St. Petersburg a 20-10 lead, was started on back-to-back layups by Keisha Rivera. Albany Tech, on the other hand, almost went scoreless during the game’s first five minutes, converting a basket by Quanesha Smith with 15:18 left in the first half.

St. Petersburg, coached by former Columbus State assistant Denisha Davidson, made good on its rotation against Albany Tech’s zone and found players open behind the arc. Porscha Williamson led St. Petersburg with 21 points and Sierra Robinson had 10.

Trailing, 33-14, at halftime, Albany Tech played its way back into the game and got within 54-44 on a 3-pointer by Jasmine Vaughn with three minutes left. St. Petersburg, however, pulled away after that.

“It’s like we relaxed once we got within 10, but (St. Petersburg) stepped it back up,” Williams said.

Former Worth County star Ann Wilcher, who led Albany Tech with nine points, seemed to take the loss especially hard.

“We just let them get the best of us (Wednesday),” she said. “It’s so disappointing because we are capable of playing better.”

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COASTAL GEORGIA MEN 80, ALBANY TECH 79:

Albany Tech blew a 15-point halftime lead and almost it when Duran Blue made a 3-pointer with eight seconds left to tie Coastal Georgia, 79-79.

When Coastal Georgia, however, brought the ball back down, Blue was whistled for a foul. Coastal then made a free throw for the win.

“The player threw it up and a foul was called. I don’t think (Blue) touched him, I’ve got to look at the film for that,” said coach Sylvester Patterson, whose team is 8-9 overall and 0-1 in the region.

Dominique Polite led ATC with 15 points, followed by Blue with 14, Wilbur Lake with 12 and Tremaine Hardwick with 11.