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Jackson paces Valley Christian in battle of Eagles
By Greg Gulas
YOUNGSTOWN
Jamynk Jackson’s 25 points, including the go-ahead bucket with 45 seconds remaining helped lift Valley Christian to a 52-49, come-from-behind victory over Warren JFK Friday at the Eagles’ Nest.
“They’re one of the top-ranked teams in the state and we needed this win tonight,” Jackson said. “The crowd was into the game and our bench kept us going, but it was our defense that kept us in the game.”
Valley Christian (5-4, 2-2 North Coast Basketball Conference) opened a 16-3 lead midway through the opening quarter on the strength of Jackson’s seven points, but withstood a late charge by JFK for a 20-9 lead heading to the second frame.
Jackson finished with nine markers in the quarter.
“We’ve had one quarter every game that has been a challenge, but in the end it was doing the little things and our execution that won this game,” Jackson said.
JFK reeled off the first 15 points of the second quarter to take a 24-20 advantage, holding Valley Christian without a point for 6:57.
Six points by Justin Bofenkamp keyed the run as he scored eight of his team-high 22 points in the period.
The JFK defense, which forced 13 Valley Christian turnovers in the period, perplexed Valley Christian enough that the team committed 19 miscues in the opening half and 31 overall.
Despite their woes in holding onto the ball, Valley Christian trailed just 30-25 at the intermission.
“Basketball has always been a game of runs and it sure was tonight for both teams,” Valley Christian coach Dolph Carroll said. “We’ve had a quarter every game so far where we’ve lost our focus and tonight it was the second quarter. With 31 turnovers we didn’t handle their pressure very well. There’s a reason they’re ranked 10th in the state and we had to play our best game of the year if we expected to win.
“Give our kids credit because they never gave up nor did they quit. They did an excellent job of executing in the end and that’s when we needed it most. hey also did a great job defensively,” Carroll said.
Six points by Jordan Trowers after intermission helped Valley Christian pull to within 40-36 heading to the final quarter.
An 11-2 run by Valley Christian to start the final frame gave the team a 47-42 lead, but seven straight points by Bofenkamp, including a traditional three-point play helped JFK go ahead, 49-48 with 53 seconds remaining.
Enter Jackson, who scored the go-ahead bucket eight seconds later for a 50-49 margin, adding two more free throws with 34 seconds remaining to round out the scoring.
Neither team could take advantage at the charity stripe with JFK connecting on just 6-of-15 attempts and Valley Christian was 16-of-25.
Trowers was the only other Valley Christian player to score in double figures with 12 while Nate Woods meshed 14 points for JFK.