JFK rebounds with Townsend back in lineup

By DOUG CHAPIN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
WARREN -- One could say the performance of sophomore Desmar Jackson (31 points, 11 rebounds, five steals, four assists, three blocked shots) was the reason the John F. Kennedy boys basketball team bounced back from its first defeat to drill rival Howland, 66-44, Friday night.
The observer making that statement certainly would be correct, but would be missing several other reasons.
The Eagles (4-1) lost a close game at Pymatuning Valley on Tuesday when senior point guard J.J. Townsend missed his second straight game with a foot injury. He played on Friday and made a huge difference with 14 points, six assists and five rebounds.
"Anytime you lose a senior who has been a starter for three years, you are going to have some discomfort as a team," Kennedy coach Shawn Pompelia said. "We are used to seeing J.J. on the floor."
"It makes a big difference with J.J. out there," Jackson said. "He knows when to slow things down. He's been in the tradition a long time. This year is my first time to be out on the floor the whole game."
Also pacing the Eagles
Another sophomore, Nick Brown, added eight points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots, and Mario Chicchillo contributed four assists.
"It's important for us to play as one," Pompelia said. "Obviously, Desmar had a great game and he rebounded well, but so did Nick and J.J. Plus, J.J. added the assists and the floor leadership. It is all about understanding roles. Tuesday night, our guys stood around and watched Desmar play. Tonight, they all had a hand in what he accomplished."
Jackson has hot hand
Jackson accomplished his 31 points on 13-of-18 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from behind the 3-point arc. At 6-foot-6 and with his shooting and driving ability, Jackson is a difficult matchup for any opponent.
His 3-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer started the Eagles on a 12-0 run that took the score from 8-8 to 20-8 less than two minutes into the second quarter. The lead was 24-10 after a Jackson steal and dunk with 3:26 remaining, but Howland (1-5) battled back to trail 26-17 at halftime and by 32-26 with 5:05 remaining in the third quarter.
Jackson then scored JFK's next nine points and Townsend's hoop at the 1:32 mark made the score 43-28. It was 47-32 after three and Howland never got closer than 15 after that.
Another reason for Kennedy's ability to bounce back from Tuesday's loss was preparation.
"In the loss Tuesday, I don't know if we were looking ahead, but we lacked energy," Pompelia said. "We had good practices Wednesday and Thursday -- we brought in some of our graduates to go against the first team -- and our coaching staff did a great job scouting Howland. There were no surprises tonight, they did a phenomenal job scouting."
Spence paced Howland
The young Tigers were coming off their first win of the season, an overtime triumph Tuesday over Austintown Fitch. Howland was led Friday by Kyle Spence with nine points and Nathan Cope with eight. Jared Kirin grabbed nine rebounds and Tyler Scott had six.
"It was 8-8 then we threw it away and it goes to 20-8," Howland coach Don Andres said. "I don't like the way we played tonight. We didn't take the ball to them. I liked the way we were playing coming into the game, but I don't like what happened tonight."
For Pompelia, continued improvement for the Eagles includes a deeper bench.
"This was game five and we are 4-1, but we are still looking for that eighth guy in our rotation. The kids on the JV team know we desperately need someone to fill that role."
As long as the Eagles have Jackson and Townsend on the floor together, they have a good chance for success.