Jackson sparks JFK past Mooney for fifth victory

Desmar Jackson had 32 points and 11 rebounds as the Eagles soared, 75-50.
By JOHN BASSETTI
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
WARREN -- It was a head-to-head matchup of state football finalists on the basketball floor approximately four weeks after they played in separate divisions a day apart.
Earlier this month, Mooney won the Div. IV championship, while JFK was Div. V runner-up.
But the tables were turned on the court Wednesday night with JFK prevailing, 75-50.
At one point, the quarterbacks of both teams -- J.J. Townsend and Dan McCarthy -- were guarding each other.
But Wednesday's Steel Valley Conference game wasn't about the throwing end, it was about the receiving end.
On that note, Desmar Jackson, a receiver on JFK's football team, had the ball in his hands enough times to score a game-high 32 points for JFK (5-1, 1-0).
The 6-4 sophomore also had 11 of his team's 30 rebounds.
On the other hand, Mooney (1-4, 1-0) didn't play one of its better games.
"They played a good game, but we didn't shoot the ball real well," Mooney coach Steve Leslie said of his team's 17 of 37 from the field and 14 of 33 from the free-throw line.
L.J. Sutton was Mooney's top scorer with 11 points.
"With the schedule we play, we're not going to win games shooting like that."
JFK surges ahead
The Cardinals led, 20-19, before the Eagles went ahead for good.
"I thought we were in good shape, then we gave up way too many easy baskets and opportunities," Leslie said. "But they're good at getting the ball to J.J. [Townsend] and [Desmar] Jackson getting the ball in open space and they hurt us."
He was referring to Jackson's 3-point goal at 6:16 of the second quarter followed by his floating layup to put JFK ahead, 24-20. Townsend added a free throw before Mike Gemma pulled Mooney within 25-22.
However, Jackson made two more free throws, followed by a foul shot by Mario Chirchillo.
Jackson had a 19-point quarter. Nick Brown added 13 points for the winners, who held a 40-25 halftime lead.
"We started out in a 2-3 zone and got very lackadaisical," JFK coach Shawn Pompelia said of the Eagles' 10-2 lead. "But they came back and did a nice job shooting the basketball. That's when we changed to man and put a little pressure on them. It seemed to escalate rapidly. Desmar made some very good defensive stops as well with the other guys rotating well to get some great interceptions. Those turnovers made some easy offense for us."
Pompelia said that he tries not to let Jackson loose on the floor -- for good reason.
"Penn State watched our Howland game last Friday and the one thing they like is how we're harnessing him to run an offense," he said. "You see a lot of kids with great talent, but they want to go one-on-one.
The developmental strategy
"What we're trying to do with Desmar is get him to move without the basketball, to play without the basketball. At the major college level is where he's going to have to excel playing without the basketball. Things of that nature are going to help him at that next level wherever it may be."
Pompelia said he was surprised to hold Mooney to 50 points.
"It was actually 38 when we subbed," he said. "We held a pretty good Mooney team. They're only going to get better as their football legs unwind."
Leslie thought his Cards had good attempts at the basket, yet missed.
"We have to get that corrected," he said. "We've got to start shooting the ball better. We spend a lot of time with it at practice and we're going to continue to spend time with it in practice. Between the field goal percentage and the free throw percentage, with the schedule we play, we're not going to win a whole lot of basketball games.
"And we've got to play better defense. We have a tough schedule but nobody feels sorry for us, but we're going to go back to the gym and try to get better."
Mooney plays Canfield on Friday.