Jackson Comes Up Clutch in Owls 86-84 Thriller Over Garrett

The Prince George's Community College men's basketball team kept spectators on the edge of their seats until the very end of their matchup against Garrett College on Saturday, December 9^th. Trailing 84-79 with 1:10 left to go, Saveon Jackson (Kentland, MD/KIPP College Prep) scored the final 7 points of the contest, including a game deciding fadeaway bank shot jumper with 4.9 seconds to play, to steal the game from Garrett and capture Prince George's fourth consecutive victory and improve the Owls to 7-1 on the year.

The Owls held a 43-35 lead at halftime after a last second shot by the Owls which appeared to give the team a 10-point cushion, was waved off before teams went into the locker room. The sophomore guard duo of Jasir Tremble (Washington, D.C./Theodore Roosevelt) and Jackson led the Owls in scoring at the break with 14 and 11, respectively.

After mostly trading baskets in the first half, Garrett used an 11-1 run early in the second to take control of the lead with momentum going their way at 49-48 with 13 minutes to go. Prince George's would respond and regain the lead but Garret again put together a run to take a 7-point lead, their largest of the game, with 4:48 left. Minutes later with the Lakers still in control the Owls turned to Tremble who hit two straight three-pointers to trim Garrett's lead to just one, 80-79, and take a timeout with all the momentum behind the energy in Novak Field House.

The Lakers responded by scoring the next four points but unfortunately for them, that's when the Jackson show stepped up and took over down the stretch to give the Owls a 2-point lead with under 5 seconds to go. The Lakers managed to move the ball up the court and looked poised to send the game into overtime when a pass was sent inside the paint to a crashing Garrett player, however, Tremble managed to recover just in time and intercept the pass as time ticked away to secure the victory for Prince George's.

Jackson earned his first double-double of the year with 29 points and 11 rebounds on the day, nearly missing out on a triple-double with 8 assists as well. This marks Jackson's first double-double since February 4^th, 2022 when he finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds against DI Harford Community College.  Back after a year off due to injury, the former All-American has managed to score in double-figures in all eight games for the Owls this season and was also just named the Region 20 DIII Player of the Month for November. Tremble wasn't far behind Jackson in scoring with 24 points and a crucial steal at the end to seal the game. Isaiah Crocket (Woodbridge, VA/Gar-Field) finished with 11 points and 5 rebounds in 21 minutes coming off the bench to round out the top scorers for the Owls.

Prince George's now turns the attention to their matchup against Butler County Community College tomorrow, December 10^th at 2 PM in a rematch of last year's Region Championship game which the Pioneers won, 99-88. The Owls are looking for their first victor over Butler since the 2021-22 season after they swept Prince George's last year.

Spectators for Sunday's game versus Butler can purchase tickets in advance or at the door in-person for $6 each. Tickets are available online only; cash cannot be accepted.  Sunday's game will also be livestreamed on the PGCC Owls YouTube page.