By Kevin Price
MJ Quarterman put together a season on the football field at McIntosh County Academy that earned him all-region honors this fall. Now, the MCA standout is having a basketball season that might end up being worthy of region Player of the Year honors. His year to this point has certainly caught the attention of 912 Sports which has chosen the standout for the Buccaneers as our Coastal Pines Technical College Boys Student-Athlete of the Month for January.
While averaging double-figures in scoring and just below double-figures for rebounding for the Bucs in the first two months of the season, the 6-foot-4 senior post player has helped lead the team to a 14-3 overall record that includes a perfect 9-0 mark in Region 3-A and a No. 2 ranking in theClass A-Division II poll by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Quarterman entered this week averaging 13.5 points and 9.8 rebounds for the season.
MCA head coach Marquise Jones said his senior standout had an up-and-down start to the season, but he has played better as the season has progressed.
“He wasn’t satisfied with his play at all,” Jones said. “Coming off the football field, he needed to get his legs back under him. He’s gotten back to being the kid who led us to the Elite 8 last year.”
This season, Quarterman has scored as high as 19 points in a single game. He has notched 15 rebounds for a single-game high and has blocked as many as six shots in a game. Also, he is averaging 2.4 blocks as a rim protector for the Bucs on the defensive end while also recording 2 steals a game. For his career, Quarterman is averaging a double-double with 14.5 points per game to go with 10.2 boards.
Last season, he averaged 15.1 points and 10.4 rebounds as a junior.
“He is a special type player that any coach would love to have on his team,” Jones said. “He’s our ‘glue guy’ that does it all for us. Whether it’s defending, rebounding or scoring, he will give 100 percent every single night.”
MCA has won its last seven games including Tuesday’s 71-43 region win at Bryan County. The team’s only losses this season were to Brunswick and Windsor Forest. Brunswick, a Class 5A school, defeated the Bucs twice by a combined 10 points in a pair of overtime games. MCA also lost to Windsor Forest, 68-57, in Brunswick’s Christmas tournament the Saturday after Christmas. It’s also worth nothing that Windsor Forest is currently the only team that has beaten Brunswick which is 15-1 on the season.
Jones noted that Quarterman also excels as a student. He currently sports a 3.3 grade-point average as he begins his final semester of high school in Darien.
“His teachers brag about his work ethic,” Jones added.
Quarterman was a preseason selection to the all-state second-team for basketball. He will run track for the Bucs this spring as well.
Coastal Pines Technical College
Boys Student-Athlete of Month
December - Jackson Hunter, Glynn Academy, cross country
January - MJ Quarterman, McIntosh Co. Academy, basketball
By Kevin Price
Camden County is a perennial state wrestling
power in the boys ranks.
And now with the school in the early stages of
developing its girls wrestling program, Breanna
Higgins is making a name of herself on the mat as
well for the Lady Wildcats.
And with the sophomore stringing together
several outstanding performances in recent
months, 912 Sports has selected the Camden
wrestler as our Coastal Pines Technical College
Girls Student-Athlete of the Month for January.
“Breanna works hard on the wrestling mat and
also in the classroom,” said Camden coach Abe
Fernandez, pointing out that Higgins carries a 4.65
grade-point average.
Currently ranked No. 1 in the state, Higgins is one
of two returning wrestlers this season for the Lady
Wildcats who have a full team for the first time
this season.
Last year, Higgins was a state-runnerup for
Camden in Year One while competing at 100
pounds.
She has won several recent championships
including those at the 2024 Own the Ocean
tournament, the Let Freedom Ring tourney, the
Battle at the Bay and the Hawkeye Invitational,
Higgins also was a runner-up at the Knockout
Christmas Classic.
“She has goals of becoming a multiple-time state
champ and a competing at the collegiate-level,”
Fernandez noted.
This past week, the Camden girls finished fourth at
their eight-team area duals meet in their first
appearance. Next up will be the area traditional
wrestling and state tournaments.
Coastal Pines Technical College
Girls Student-Athletes of the Month
December - Jada Evans, Ware County, cheer
January - Breanna Higgins, Camden County, wrestling
Contact Shawn Smoak (912) 288-7323 sls0866@gmail.com
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