No. 1 Grayson vs. No. 2 Shiloh: 5 Shiloh Takeaways

<p>Coming off an 18-9 season, No. 2 Shiloh (15-1) found itself in a position to make national headlines in Friday’s matchup with Region 8-AAAAAAA rival No. 1 Grayson (14-1), ranked in the Top 10 nationally. Unlike the Rams, the Generals started the season unranked and worked their way to the top of the Class 7A poll, racking up wins against ranked teams and stiff out-of-state competition. A perfect 2-0 showing at the Tournament of Champions was highlighted by wins over No. 7 East Coweta (73-71) and previously ranked McEachern (82-64). For 16 minutes, it looked like Shiloh was on the verge of doing something special in Loganville, but a sluggish third quarter resulted in a 72-60 loss. Here are five takeaways from Shiloh’s valiant effort.</p> <h4><strong>The Generals can take a punch</strong></h4> <p>Shiloh never led against Grayson and found itself in a 9-3 hole early. There were a handful of times in the first half where it looked like Grayson would run away with the lead, but Shiloh never relented. They sewed the deficit to 13-12 and ended the quarter down 23-16. Once again, Grayson would extend the lead and went ahead 34-24 before a 10-2 run sent the game into the half at 36-34. In the third quarter, Shiloh couldn’t stop momentum, getting outscored 22-8 to balloon Grayson’s lead to 58-42 heading into the fourth. Shiloh won the fourth quarter 18-14 but it wasn’t enough. I give a lot of credit to Shiloh resiliency in the first half. It could have gotten ugly early, but their balanced offense kept them in the game for as long as possible.</p> <h4><strong>Spread out scoring</strong></h4> <p>Six players scored 7 or more points for the Generals.  6-foot-6 junior <strong>Jordan Mitchell </strong>led Shiloh with 12 points and 4 rebounds. The long big who doubles as a wide receiver on the football team didn’t do anything spectacular but finished around the rim and was a serviceable piece. <strong>Caleb Golden </strong>(11), <strong>James Little </strong>(10), <strong>Zawdie Jackson </strong>(8), <strong>Anthony Canada </strong>(7) and <strong>Zaron Jackson </strong>(7) rounded out the offense.</p> <h4><strong>Good guards</strong></h4> <p>Void of a true superstar, Shiloh is still loaded with very strong guard play paced by lead man 5-foot-11 senior <strong>Zawdie Jackson</strong>. One of Georgia’s best unsigned senior point guards, Jackson has been a high-level varsity player since his days as a freshman at South Gwinnett. He is a supreme floor general that excels at getting teammates involved. Jackson tallied 8 points and 4 assists and is a guard that should hear from D-II schools. Fresh from Texas, 6-foot-4 senior <strong>Caleb Golden </strong>has made a major impact on the program. He is a big shooting guard with a nice stroke and good body. He had seven points in the first quarter but slowed down to finish with 11. I would have liked to see him try to force the issue a little more at times but in Shiloh’s balanced offense, having a player take the lion’s share of the shots doesn’t really fit in. 6-foot-3 senior swingman <strong>James Little </strong>had 10 points and 3 rebounds. He’s a strong athlete and physical defender. He knocked down two threes during Shiloh’s 10-0 run late in the second quarter.</p> <h4><strong>Outside shooters go cold</strong></h4> <p>Grayson played some zone against Shiloh and the Generals obliged by launching up threes. They hit four in the first half and confidently shot them, but in the second half only sophomore <strong>Xavier Wright </strong>managed to can a deep-ball. Hitting threes has proven to be the recipe for success when playing Grayson as Newton sank 14 in their come from behind overtime stunner of the Rams weeks ago.</p> <h4><strong>Who caught my eye?</strong></h4> <p>6-foot-2 sophomore <strong>Zaron Jackson </strong>did some nice things off the bench for Coach Kim Rivers. The thick under-sized post used his frame well to score inside amongst Grayson’s shot blockers. He had 7 points and 3 rebounds. Having a young player to turn to and knowing that he is willing to do the dirty work and can finish inside is a nice card to have in your back pocket. Against elite teams like Grayson, every point counts and Jackson served his purpose well.</p>