CJ Brown leads Kell to GHSL AAAAA boys basketball state championship

Longhorns' star scores 21 in a title game victory over Eagle's Landing

MACON, GEORGIA – The Kell boys basketball team got its first taste of a Georgia state championship last season and, Thursday, the Longhorns earned a second helping as they defeated Eagle's Landing, 62-51, in the 2024 GHSL AAAAA Boys Basketball State Championship Game at the Macon Centerplex.

Senior C.J. Brown, who is committed to South Florida, paced the Longhorns with a 21-point, 9-rebound performance as Kell, after a 1-3 start to its season, finished the year on a 27-game winning streak.

Kell also got an impressive effort from four-year starter Jaylen Colon, who scored 14 points and added 6 rebounds.

The Kell Longhorns won their second consecutive GHSL state championship Thursday with a victory over Eagle's Landing in the Class AAAAA boys basketball state championship game

In the half court game, the team's matched up fairly evenly, but the Longhorns dominated the glass, owning a 35-25 edge in rebounding which led to 16 second chance points. This is a difference maker in the outcome, as the Golden Eagles were not able to get enough stops on the defensive end of the floor.

Eagle's Landing (23-8), which was led by 17 points and 6 rebounds from Chris Morris, had its best stretch late in the first half when it cut an 8-point deficit to just two at the half. The Eagles also scored six straight in the third quarter to forge a 35-35 tie, but Kell closed the period on a 7-0 run, capped by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Connor Staphylaris. The Longhorns then established complete control with an 8-0 run midway through the fourth quarter. Staphylaris, who finished with 9 points, hit two more treys during that stretch.