Milestone night for White as Pace Academy defeats Osborne in 'Hoopsgiving Classic'
On Saturday, the Pace Academy Knights took to the hardwood in just their second game of the season, looking to improve to 2-0, as they faced off against the Osborne Cardinals , who looked to bounce back from their four point loss to Dutchtown on Friday. While the Knights would be in control of the game from the start of the first quarter, the Cardinals consistently made runs throughout the night, not allowing Pace to run away with the game.
It would be in the final quarter of play in which Osborne would make their strongest run after trailing by as many as 12 points in the period, down 57-45, the Cardinals would go on a 18-8 run to find themselves trailing 65-63 late in the quarter, however the Knights would be able to close out outscoring the Cardinals 6-4 down the stretch to pick up the 71-67 win. Osborne’s Akai Fleming would lead all players with 21 points, while Pace’s leading scorer would be L.J.Moore and the win would be Pace Academy head coach, Sharman White’s 500th career win.
“It’s unbelievable feeling,” White said of reaching the his coaching career milestone. “It’s hard to believe, I can remember my first game I coached,” White added as he described the feeling of the uncertainty of knowing if and when he would reach the career mark and then going on to do so on Saturday. “You just never know when that day is going to come for you and it’s like, it’s here and I’m like ‘wow’,” White, who has won 10 Georgia High School Association state championships, said reflecting on his career. The win also moves Pace Academy to 2-0 on the season and while there is plenty of basketball remaining on the schedule, White said that his players have shown “championship moxie” early on.
“They’ve been through some battles and so they know when it gets close, they know how to manage themselves, they know how to get themselves in position to win the game.” White said as he credited his players for their ability to handle on the court challenges and acknowledging that the experience of his six of seven players from last year’s Georgia High School Association Class 4A state championship team is valuable for the Knights. “To have them guys back and then be able to put a couple of guys with it, it’s been a lot of fun with this group so far,” White said. Pace Academy will travel to Stockbridge on Tuesday in their third game of the season.
