Jackson HS- It might’ve been the best basketball Jackson has played all year, as the Tigers defeated Carver High School (Montgomery, Alabama) 63-56 in a Pre MLK Basketball Tournament contest Friday evening. Jackson controlled the game with their guards by controlling the floor and finding the open man down low to score high percentage field goals with their big men. Freshman #21 Teran Haywood gained the confidence of Coach Collins to be the floor general for the Tigers starting the game against Carver. However, Collins has dialed up an effective rotation that keeps a high tempo on offense. Senior Mike Decembre provides leadership at the point guard position, and starter David Daniels has all the physical intangibles to lead the starting unit. Confidence is key for such a young team, yet Jack showed tremendous confidence in their contest against Carver.
The Tiger guards pushed the ball up court, maneuvering through the bigger Carver team and exploiting their full court press. #1 Josh Knox benefited from this, hitting mid range shots and capitalizing on layups. Knox along with #11 Logan West led Jackson at halftime with 6 and 8 points respectively. They held a 36-34 lead as Carver’s Jaykwon Walton led all scorers with 16 points. The 6’6 Walton showed his versatility hitting shots from the perimeter, and driving to the basket. Jackson had trouble defending the play of Walton in the first half.
63-56 Jackson defeats Carver (Alabama)
Carver scorers
Jaykwon Walton 20pts
Jalen Gaston 14pts
Darrell Bailey 11pts pic.twitter.com/78fDGrRc8H— Duval Sports ™️ (@DuvalSports) January 6, 2018
Carver (Alabama)
Carver scorers
Jalen Gaston 14pts
Darrell Bailey 11pts @WHITE_BOI0 @jgthepg11 pic.twitter.com/8w4Nqk99eD— Duval Sports ™️ (@DuvalSports) January 6, 2018
In the second half, Jackson put the clamps down on Walton as he was led scoreless in the fourth quarter. Jackson would extend their lead thanks to the play of Randolph Myers. Myers hit shots down low, from the post position, while also hitting nice 20 foot jumpers as the Jackson guards found him open on several plays. Randolph and company’s ability to hit the open shot was the difference in the game as Jackson built a ten point lead in the fourth quarter. Myers led Jackson with 19 points as the Tigers improved their record on the season to 7-4.
Josh Knox 11pts for Jackson! pic.twitter.com/61OoidjSyI
— Duval Sports ™️ (@DuvalSports) January 6, 2018
Randolph Myers with a great game tonight for Jackson! 19pts pic.twitter.com/ixC0njfMVS
— Duval Sports ™️ (@DuvalSports) January 6, 2018
It’s been an up and down year for Jackson but they look to be turning a corner in the year. Coach Collins expounded, ” I think we’re on the right track right now and we are doing some good things, we’re just not consistent enough on defense or scoring. But tonight we were able to get a flow going, and we’ll get back to practice and work on some of those things and continue to get better. Jackson has the annual Martin Luther King Jr tournament next up, followed by the Gateway Conference tournament, and then districts. They currently sit first in their district as they look towards making a serious push for the post season in 2018.
