Huzzie reaches milestone as Braves top Jackets

(Franklin, GA) — The Heard County Braves notched a big 56-45 region win over Jordan at home Friday night as Alijah Huzzie eclipsed the 1000 point mark for his varsity career.

The milestone came on a drive to the bucket in the third quarter and the senior guard was fouled to turn the play in to three points for good measure.

The Braves (3-10, 1-3) jumped out to a 22-11 lead after one quarter of action and performed well to fight off a scrappy Red Jacket squad who rallied in the second quarter to close the deficit before the home team pulled away late in the game.

Alijah Huzzie (Photo: Jeff Napier)

Huzzie finished his night with 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Other Braves also had nice shooting nights including Khalil Cofield who drained three from beyond the arc to finish with nine points, Ayden Cannon who also finished with nine, and Jameer Cook who tallied eight.

Tray Dunson and Ashton Bonner had solid defensive efforts in the win.

Head coach Keith Simmons says the Huzzie milestone is even more impressive considering the amount of games he has missed due to extended football seasons over the last four years. He estimates the senior has missed around 20 games total which equates to almost a full season of basketball.

“It’s just a credit to how hard Huzzie works from season to season especially the last couple of years when he has been the primary focus of defenders and often facing double-team situations. He really is something special,” says Simmons.

The third year Brave coach was pleased overall with Friday’s win especially the work of some of his younger athletes.

“Tonight was by far the best start to a game we have had this season. Seeing our young guys like Ashton Bonner, Ayden Cannon, Orren Rowley, Jameer Cook and others progress has been very encouraging,” said Simmons after the game.

“Bonner has really given us a spark defensively and Jameer Cook has really stepped up as a freshman ball handler. For Cook to be just a freshman and to be able to handle full court pressure like he does is very impressive. All of these guys effort takes some of the responsibilities off of Huzzie and makes us a better team.”

The coach was also proud of a a couple of his seniors Tray Dunson and LeQuincy Shepherd who battled through some injuries with quality minutes.

The Braves dropped a tough road game in overtime at Bremen Wednesday night falling 55-53 to the Devils. Huzzie led the scoring with 27 followed by Ayden Cannon with 10 and Khalil Cofield with nine.

The Braves will be back in action at home next Friday night when they will host another region opponent the Lamar County Trojans at 7:30 PM. It will be the first of three straight games at home as the Braves welcome Temple on Saturday night and Bremen on Tuesday, January 15.