CALHOUN, Ga. – Vince Layson knew any chance his Calhoun boys’ basketball team had of winning Wednesday night’s GHSA Class AAA quarterfinal against Jenkins rested on the shoulders of guard Malik Lawrence.
Facing a Jenkins team gifted with superior athletes, Lawrence was the one Calhoun player capable of more than holding his own up and down the court. The senior did that and more, scoring 15 of his game-high 25 points in the final period as the Yellow Jackets won a 65-60 thriller.
Calhoun (23-4) will face Morgan County in the semifinal round at 8 p.m. Saturday at Armstrong State University in Savannah.
“Malik took over,” Layson said. “He’s a senior, and we had a talk a little earlier this afternoon about some growing pains he’s had this year. I told him, ‘You’ve got to want the ball at the end of this game.’ He did that when we really needed it tonight.”
The game was physical from the opening tip, which played into Jenkins’ game plan of spreading out on the offensive end, going one on one and then going all out for offensive rebounds. The Jackets never backed down, but the style of play caused Layson to alter his lineup.