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McQueen, Bofenkamp lift JFK
By MIKE McLAIN
CHAMPION
You can’t play a basketball game any closer than the show staged Friday night by the John F. Kennedy Eagles and Champion Golden Flashes.
If Antonio McQueen had been a few muscle twitches slower on his short drive that produced the game-winning layup in the Eagles’ 86-84 win, the teams might still be playing.
McQueen took a pass from Byron Miller, who drew defenders away from McQueen on a drive down the lane. McQueen had an open path to the basket. The only obsatcle was the clock, which appeared to be inside the one-second mark as the ball left his hands.
As the horn sounded, the Eagles had their fifth win in six games, and the Flashes (5-3) had a block upon which to build.
“Right off the top of my head, I can’t think of anything to complain about,” Flashes coach Jamie Carrino said. “Our kids showed a lot of heart. It was a great game both ways.”
The winning play developed pretty much like it was drawn up by Eagles coach Mark Komlanc. When Taylor was able to attract defenders, he quickly flipped the ball to McQueen, who was open on the baseline.
“We wanted to see if we could sneak Antonio in for a slip,” Komlanc said. “If we didn’t get that we wanted to spread them and try to attack to see if we could get the layup or backside block, and we got the backside block. Luckily we got it off in time.”
There was a back-and-forth flow from the outset. The Eagles had leads of 16-15 after the first quarter and 42-36 at halftime. JFK opened an eight-point lead twice in the third quarter before taking a 62-61 lead into the fourth period.
JFK made 38 of 69 shots from the field, with most coming from inside 10 feet. Justin Bofenkamp scored 30 points, including 17 in the second quarter.
Champion did most of its damge from the perimeter, making nine 3-point shots on the way to a 32-of-73 performance from the field. Lucas Nasonti, who didn’t make a 3-point shot, led the Flashes with 23 points.
“We missed tons of layups,” Komlanc said. “We’re probably the worst-shooting team in Trumbull County that scores the most points. We’re up over 74 or 75 points a game, but we can’t shoot.”
The Flashes had a 46-36 rebounding advantage, led by Michael Turner with 13. Unable to match the Eagles in size, the Flashes hustled for rebounds and loose balls.
“I don’t think we ever stopped fighting the entire game,” Carrino said. “I thought we played at an extremely high level. Kennedy is good. I think Kennedy has an opportunity to make a deep run in the tournament.”
Nate Woods added 16 points to JFK’s scoring. Taylor and McQuenn both had 13.
Drake Batcho, who made three 3-pointers, had 18 points for Champion. Turner finished with 15.