Andrew Jackson Academy Boys’ Basketball Dealing With Early Season Injuries
By Billy G. Baker
Publisher
Ehrhardt—After playing for a SCISA AA boy’s state title in 2024-25 the Andrew Jackson Academy Warriors team have been hit by injuries and graduation losses, so this could be a rare rebuilding season for veteran head coach Josh Barnes as he enters his 15th season as head coach in the program.
“Our basketball team has done well but our current record does not show the progress of this team,” said head coach Josh Barnes, “Playing without Hall (Sease) the past few games has been most challenging on the rebounding side of things.
“We have challenged others to step up to fill that void and they have responded of late,” said Coach Barnes. “Elijuh Davis and Ollie Barnes both had 16 rebounds each in Saturday’s (December, 13) double over-time loss to Patrick Henry. Eli Mathys stepped up with double digit rebounds as well.
“Hall also leaves a void as a secondary ball handler for the team,” said Coach Barnes. “Will Barnes, an 8th grader stepped up earlier to help fill this void. Tanner Chassereau has logged in key minutes as well to help fill voids.
“I am always proud to see kids filling in other roles other than their usual standard roles,” said Coach Barnes. “It shows growth and maturity of your student athletes when they can step into new roles and help the team and that is one of my primary focuses as a coach.
“Davis has provided as inside presence for the team also,” said Coach Barnes. “He is focused on improving every day. I feel that Hall having his unfortunate injury forced us into a fire and caused some to get burned but in the end the team will be stronger for it. We look forward to having Hall back as he is one of our most experienced players who has been through everything with me.
“Either my brother, or myself have coached Hall since the 5th grade and we understand what talent Hall brings to the court,” said Coach Barnes. “One constant has been Ollie Barnes. He is willing to do whatever is asked of him and he rolls with the punches. He is a high character guy on and off the court. He is dependable in all aspects of the game.
“My goal is for the team to be completely healthy by January,” said Coach Barnes. “Hall has been out and Ollie has played though an injury that took him off the court this past week,” said Coach Barnes. “Getting those two back to full strength will help us compete in our region. A
“Also, Landon Godina, a key transfer starter, has helped the team with high percentage shooting and quality ball handling,” said Coach Barnes.
Junior combo guard Ollie Barnes is having an outstanding season as he leads the team in scoring (18.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists a game). Barnes has been on the team since the 8th grade. Sease (6-3, 175) is the team’s second leading scorer to date averaging 14.6 points, 14.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals a game). Sease has been a varsity player since the 8th grade.
Other starters include junior forward Eli Mathys who is averaging two points and 6.6 rebounds a game. Senior guard Landon Godina is a starter who is averaging 6.5 points and 2.5 rebounds a game. The 5th starter is junior power forward Elizuh Davis (6-4, 175) and he is averaging 8.7 points and 9 rebounds a game.
The remaining four contributors on the team include senior forward Tanner Chassereau, junior guard Dylan Mahoney, 8th grade point guard Will Barnes, and senior forward Tres Mixson.
The team started the 2025-26 season 2-0 with wins over Faith Christian (60-58) and Curtis Baptist (75-69). However, the Warriors then lost four games in a row before getting back in the win column with a win over Jefferson Davis Academy (72-22) on December 8.
As of December 13, the team had a 3-7 record. Without Sease in the line-up they lost a highly competitive double overtime loss at home to Patrick Henry (66-61) on the 13th. Against Patrick Henry, Davis stepped up with 24 points and 16 rebounds while Ollie Barnes had 19 points, 16 rebounds, three assists and four steals. Mathys contributed six points and 13 rebounds against Patrick Henry.
The Warriors will next play at Colleton Prep on December 18 before playing the next day at Dorchester Academy. They start playing in a Christmas Tournament hosted by Orangeburg Prep starting on December 22 with games TBA.
