ATLANTA, GA - About an hour and a half before tip-off between Americus-Sumter and St. Pius X, half of the 1,300 seat gymnasium at the Catholic powerhouse was filled up. As the refs prepared for tip, there wasn’t a seat in the house. 

What the sold-out crowd got was an absolute dominant win from the visiting Americus-Sumter team. 

The Panthers continue their march through the difficult AAAA bracket, picking up two monster road wins against two of the best teams in all of Georgia. Americus-Sumter beat Upson Lee last week to advance.

Americus-Sumter came out strong from the get-go, holding St. Pius X to two points for the majority of the first quarter. The Lions trailed all game long. That was the kind of night it was for St. Pius X. And that’s the kind of night it was for Americus-Sumter. 

For senior forward Joshua Lusane, the win was just a matter of preparation and grit. 

“Our coach always gives us a great game plan on what to do on defense,” Lusane said. “We executed it right and we handled things on the offensive end. We knew that we were going to have to be tough and when we got the lead up in the first half we told each other to keep the pressure on them and do not let up.” 

And they didn’t. They actually got even better. Lusane finished with 21 points and 11 rounds in the win. He was brilliant in the victory. Alcorn State head coach Montez Robinson was on hand to see Lusane play. 

Americus-Sumter also had a strong game from junior guard Trae Brown. The 6-foot-1 combo guard scored 19 points and made an impact all over the floor. 

Two giant road wins at two of the toughest places to play in Georgia is what burns hot on Americus-Sumter’s resumé right now. Lusane said he knew the road to Macon would be a hard one, but certainly worth it. 

“We knew coming into those games that we were going to have to face the crowd and the student sections. My team didn’t do any talking and we let our game do the talking,” Lusane said. “We came in the game very confident and knowing that we were going to win the game.”

Americus-Sumter will play Sandy Creek on Saturday at the AAAA Final Four at Fort Valley State at 4 p.m.