For the ninth time, Wilkinson County has its way

As the rest of the Wilkinson County players piled onto each other on the floor of Stegeman Coliseum on Wednesday, head coach Aaron Geter Jr. and his son, Aaron Geter III, exchanged a long hug.

Geter III and his senior teammates ended their high school careers with resumes few in Georgia can match. They won their third GHSA Class 1A public school championship in four years, pulling away in the second half for a 66-53 victory over Calhoun County.

For the program, it’s the ninth state title, all coming in the past 18 years, and it’s the fourth title in five years.

For the older Geter, who is also Wilkinson County’s superintendent, the ninth title places him second on the all-time Georgia boys list, surpassing former Perry head coach Eric Staples. Geter is four behind Lanier’s Selby Buck, who won his final title in 1951.

Wilkinson County (25-7) trailed Calhoun County (28-2) by five at the half but led by nine after three quarters.

Five who mattered

Clarence Jackson: Jackson played a key role on the defensive boards, coming up with 10 of Wilkinson County’s 29 defensive rebounds. He finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Tylan Grable: Grable played just 19 minutes, but he made those 19 minutes count. He went 6-of-9 from the field, scored 15 points and had 10 rebounds, six of them offensive.

Larry Jones and Derrick Wilcher: The Wilkinson County duo also scored in double figures, Jones with 11 and Wilcher off the bench with 10.

Rashun Williams: The Calhoun County junior kept the Cougars in the game with 25 points, eight rebounds and five blocks while playing all 32 minutes.

Observations

Rally time: Wilkinson County was content to ride out the flow of the game, not getting frustrated when things didn’t go its way. Trailing 34-29 at half, Wilkinson County opened the third quarter with an 8-0 run. The Warriors’ lead was nine by the end of the third, and Wilkinson County didn’t fold when Calhoun County cut the Warriors’ lead to one early in the fourth.

No quit: Jackson picked up his third personal foul early in the third quarter. Instead of extended bench time, however, Jackson remained in the game and had four points, four rebounds and a steal in the third quarter.

Board work: Wilkinson County outrebounded Calhoun County 46-31. On the defensive side, Wilkinson County had 29 to Calhoun County’s 18. That wound up frustrating Calhoun County late, as the Cougars missed their final six 3-point attempts after making seven earlier in the game.

Worth noting

Master of the classification: Since public and private schools were split for the postseason five years ago, the only two teams to win the public school title are Wilkinson County (four) and Calhoun County (one).

New digs: The GHSA moved the state finals to Georgia’s Stegeman Coliseum and Georgia Tech’s McCamish Pavilion partially as a response to baskets at the Macon Coliseum that were misaligned for the 2016 finals. Prior to Wednesday’s action, GHSA officials measured the baskets with a tape measure to ensure compliance with National Federation of State High School Associations standards, according to photos posted by Georgia high school basketball blogger Kyle Sandy.

They said it

Jackson on Wilkinson County’s second-half reset: “We just stayed focused, did our jobs, listened, soaked in what Coach told us to do, and we knew we could get the job done.”

Grable on the second half: “We played Wilkinson County basketball.”

Jackson on the edge Wilkinson County gained inside: “We knew we had a mismatch. We knew we could get the job done by getting the ball down in there tight.”

Geter on the win: “We’ve been around a lot of basketball. There’s going to be spurts in the game. It’s just a matter of who has the most spurts. Our kids withstood (Calhoun County’s spurts), they had the last spurt, and that’s what got us the win.”

Jackson on what has made Wilkinson County successful the past two decades: “Really, it’s just keeping the right mindset, listening, executing, going hard every day at practice.”

This story was originally published March 8, 2017 at 7:56 PM with the headline "For the ninth time, Wilkinson County has its way."