

McConnell Minute
McConnell Middle School's Weekly Newsletter
Events This Week
- Mid-Winter Break: Feb. 19th
- Rising 9th-Grade Football Meeting (@Archer HS): Feb. 21st, 7pm
- Breakfast With the Principal: Feb. 23rd, 8:15am
- International Club Meeting: Feb. 23rd, 8:30am
- PTO Spirit Night @ Sparkles: Feb. 23rd, 6-10pm
- ⚽ vs. Lanier MS (Home): Feb. 24th, 11am
Upcoming Events
PTO Spirit Night @Johnny's Pizza
Spring Book Fair
Archer HS Cheerleading Informational Meeting
EES Parent Survey
Parents/Guardians,
Please take a moment to complete the EES Parent Survey. This survey will provide the school and district with information about how we can best support your student(s). Thanks for your participation.
McConnell Middle Runs Away From Dacula for Gwinnett County Championship
NORCROSS — McConnell Middle boys basketball coach Craig Collins was in an emotional state after Tuesday’s Gwinnett County championship game.
It was a deserved moment for Collins as he watched Tiger fans give his team a standing ovation following a 61-43 win over Dacula.
“Just the hard work to pay off like this is special,” Collins said. “All the early mornings, adversity, it really paid off. I love these kids. They have made me a better coach and better person. I’m really happy for them and our community.”
Despite the 18-point winning margin, the first half of Tuesday’s final was tight.
Tied at 28 entering the third quarter, McConnell’s Kayden Ogbara knocked in a triple that gave the Tigers a 33-30 lead at the 5:47 mark, forcing a Dacula timeout. From there, it was all McConnell.
The Tigers took a 44-34 advantage into the final quarter, before back-to-back layups from Ogbara and Roger Lowe extended the lead to 14 with less than five minutes left.
McConnell’s Cameron Hurst was a steady source of offense all night, and the big man led all scorers with 20 points — mostly coming from his go-to move, a turnaround mid-range jumper. Lowe followed with 19 for the Tigers, while Ogbara tallied 12.
After the knotted-up halftime score, Collins’ message for his team was simple.
“Just stick with what we do,” Collins said. “Stick to our plan. We’ve been good all year and we just want to continue to attack on offense and shut it down on the other end of the court.”
The longtime McConnell head man knows that this trophy is about more than just the 2023-24 squad.
“This really is amazing,” Collins added. “I’ve been at the school for 10 years and we have a great community. It’s just exciting to get it done for our administration, our teachers and our students. It’s an exciting time to be a Tiger.”
Dacula was led in scoring by Antonio Presley and Nick Richardson, who each scored 11. Dorian Douglas and Douglas Finley followed with eight points apiece for the Falcons.
By Jack Batten, Staff Correspondent