Jefferson deals Jacobs a loss
Jacobs was hit with a surprising technical knockout by Rockford Jefferson on Saturday night in Algonquin.
Surprising because the Golden Eagles were in position to use a Jefferson technical foul as a potential momentum-turner in the final game of the first round of the Jacobs Boys Holiday Basketball Classic.
But the Golden Eagles missed 2 potential game-tying free throws with 37 seconds left in the third quarter and then committed a turnover. Jefferson proceeded to rip off 18 unanswered points en route to a 58-46 victory at the Eagles Nest.
“We were playing pretty solid ‘D’ in the first half,” said Jacobs senior Alex Glover, who scored 9 of his team-high 12 points in the first quarter. “In the second half it just slipped away from us.”
Junior Will Schwerdtmann also scored 8 of his 10 points as Jacobs (1-5) led 27-24 at halftime and 33-30 just 2:23 after intermission.
But the Golden Eagles committed 3 turnovers, missed 8 shots from the field and 4 free throws and went scoreless for 7:13 as Jefferson (6-4) turned a 40-38 edge into a 58-38 runaway with less than three minutes to play.
“They really got up and pushed the intensity and got a couple of fastbreak baskets,” Glover said. “From there they started to pull away.”
Some of Jefferson’s intensity came from a lack of it Friday night in a 48-37 NIC-10 loss to Freeport. Coach Todd Brannan’s usual starting five watched the beginning of the Jacobs game from the bench.
“Our starters played terrible (Friday) night and the guys off the bench had a lot of energy,” Brannan said of a team with three freshmen and only four seniors. “It was a really ugly game and nobody played well for us (Friday).
“I really liked our energy and our unselfishness.”
Especially after Jacobs tied it at 35-35 on Schwerdtmann’s baseline drive. A 3-pointer by Equavion Monroe put Jefferson ahead to stay.
Eleven points in the decisive run came from seniors Tyrice Morgan and Jason Wimberley who didn’t play in the first half. Junior Jared Mayes scored 9 of his 15 points in the second half.
“That was as good as we’ve played offensively as far as sharing the ball,” Brannan said of the 18-point run. “The first thing we talked about at halftime was sharing the ball.”
Jacobs used a 10-2 blitz to take a 26-20 lead 2:25 before halftime. Lake Ojo scored twice, Schwerdtmann had a layup and Brad Cleveland (9 points) hit a running hook and a spinning pullup jumper off a steal.
But Jacobs coach Jim Hinkle had cleared his bench by the time his team scored the last 8 points in the final 2:07. Ryan Ross finally ended Jefferson’s run with the first of his two 3s.
“In the first half we were working our offense the way we wanted to and we were getting some good inside-out action,” the 6-foot-4 Glover said. “That’s what we want but we got away from it in the second half. We needed to work the ball more before we shot.”