JCA held Homecoming at Morton's Gym on friday. Not only was it the final home game of the season, but it was also the final games to be played in that building. Many thanks to Elijah and Violet Morton for their generosity in allowing us to use their facility these many years.
The festivities began with a pep-rally on the school grounds that included members of the varsity, jv, and mini-jv cheerleaders. The first game was against Gramercy's junior vasity basketball team. Seeking to avenge an earlier loss at Gramercy, JCA's jv team fought back from an early 4 point deficit to take an 8 point lead into the locker room at halftime. The Gramercy Warriors came out of the locker room determined to finish the season undefeated. With great outside shooting and better rebounding than the first half they surged to a 7 point lead in the fourth guarter before JCA was to able to regain control of the tempo. With a renewed emphasis on getting the ball inside and boxing out JCA was able to close the gap to 3 with seconds to go. After a forced turnover, JCA called timeout to set up the inbounds play. Needing a 3-pointer to tie the the game and force overtime, the Conquerors tried to get the ball into the hands of one of Sarah Dodson or Jennifer Jackson. The ball was tipped, however, on the inbounds attempt and time ran out before a shot could be attempted. JCA ended the season 4-3, their best mark in the 3 year history of the program.
In the second game of the evening, the JCA's varsity played Ahoskie's Girls' varsity team in a contest that featured a slick floor and lots of scoring by one team: the Conquerors. With the game well in hand in the second quarter, JCA cleared the bench and coasted to a double-digit win. In the fourth quarter JCA's senior starters made one last appearance and were replaced, one by one, to make their last walk to the bench to great applause from the crowd. Unfortunately, the floor got worse and worse as the game drew to a finish and the boys' game was cancelled. The evening concluded with a ceremony honoring the seniors who have played basketball, soccer, volleyball, or cheerleading.
