Aquinas Advances to the Final Four

Wednesday night, Aquinas welcomed Excel Christian of Cartersville, Ga to their home court for a chance to get in the Final Four of the state playoffs. Aquinas would prove that they are the more dominant team and would win convincingly 67-40. From the beginning, Aquinas was too much for Excel Christian to handle. They never let up and completely dominated the entire game.

Aquinas took control from the start and kept it that way by playing stellar defense. They made sure there would be no easy baskets for Excel Christian by taking away anything down low. If Excel Christian was going to score then it was going to have to be from shooting mid to long range shots. Aquinas played solid defense and protected the ball and found themselves on 13-5 run at the end of 1st quarter.  Ahmed Hill was blanketed throughout the 1st half and Aquinas did a great job of finding the open guy. Many times, Ruben Garnett, was that guy and he made them pay by hitting several of those open shots. They continued their run by outscoring Excel Christian 21-3 in the 2nd quarter. They went in the locker room with a commanding lead of 34-8.

The 2nd quarter was much of the same for Aquinas, as they stuck to playing tough defense, only this time star players, Ahmed Hill and Michael Scott, would get involved offensively. Hill could not miss the mid range jumper and added a couple dunks to the highlight clips. Michael Scott nailed a few 3-pointers and put his amazing dribbling skills on display.  The game was never in doubt for Aquinas and they cruised to a 67-40 victory. Ahmed Hill lead Aquinas with 25 pts followed by Michael Scott with 17.

This win was a major stamp on Aquinas' playoff run. I know that you can not always judge teams by what they look like on paper but Excel Christian was 26-2. There is no way that a bad team wins 26 games and only loses 2. Aquinas made a statement tonight showing that they are poised and ready to do what it takes to win a state championship and are only 2 games away from achieving that goal. 

Friday, Aquinas will travel to Kennesaw State to play the #2 seeded team of St. Francis (23-8) at 5:30.