Jackson Progress-Argus

Henry County’s height advantage proved to be an obstacle for the Red Devils.

McDonough — A dominant Henry County High School basketball team outperformed a depleted Jackson High School squad Friday, in McDonough, culminating in a 96-52 drubbing.

Henry County -- which is only two one-point losses away from being undefeated in the region -- was gifted a point before the game began. Jackson power forward Dee King touched the rim while the team was warming up prior to the game, which is a technical foul according to the Georgia High School Association rules, and Henry County converted one of the two free throws.

Jackson never got on track offensively in the first quarter. Stymied inside due to Henry County’s height advantage, the Red Devils resorted to jump shots which did not fall and saw themselves in a 20-6 hole after the first quarter.

The second quarter was better for Jackson, as it was able to cut the deficit to 8 after a 10-4 run during the first three minutes of the quarter, which prompted a timeout and a fiery demonstration from the Warhawks’ Head Coach Vincent Rosser. His team responded to the wake-up call, and closed out the quarter on a 20-4 run and a 24-point halftime lead.

Henry County opened the quarter on a 12-2 run, including a pair of dunks that got the home crowd excited. With 2:47 remaining in the third quarter, the deficit reached 40 points and Jackson players and coaches were clearly frustrated. The tipping point came moments later when a Henry County player leaped for a dunk on a breakaway, and Jackson senior guard Ladarian Spivey gave him a hip check that sent the player out of control in mid-air. Spivey was ejected from the game, without argument from the coaching staff or Spivey himself.

Spivey’s ejection was soon followed by a full, five-man substitution, and many reserve and inexperienced players saw minutes in the remaining quarter of the game, while Henry County never slowed down its uptempo style of offense.

Jackson starting point guard Torian Hollaman and Spivey led the Red Devils in points with 13 and 12, respectively, but it was far from enough. Henry County shot 57 percent from the field, including 63 percent from 2-point range and 56 points from the paint.

“They have a great offense and great size,” said Jackson Head Coach Dary Myricks after the game. “Give them credit.”

The game marked the second consecutive game in which Jackson has allowed exactly 96 points to its opponent, after losing last Tuesday to Spalding High School 96-84.

Jackson has a couple of home games over the weekend, with tilts against Eastside High School and Mary Persons High School. Jackson plays Eastside Friday at 8:30 p.m., and Mary Persons at 7:30 p.m., on Saturday.