Published: November 15, 2008 08:17 pm         

Basketball: Jaguars win twice in Jacksonville Classic, now 4-2

By Jay Neal

sports@jacksonvilleprogress.com

So much for the theory weekends are all about rest and relaxation; at least not for the Jacksonville College men’s basketball team.

After trouncing the Northwestern (La.) State junior varsity, 109-54, Friday night in the opening round of the Jacksonville Classic, the Jaguars (4-2) had to stage a second-half rally Saturday afternoon to defeat the Houston Blaze by a 91-79 margin at the Vivian and Bob Smith Events Center on the campus of Lon Morris College.

The Blaze, coached by former Houston Rocket star Robert Reid, got a field goal from Jonthan Maxwell and a fade-away trey off the left wing with 10 seconds to go in the first half to take a 46-41 lead into intermission.

The Jaguars had trouble getting the ball in the hole in the opening 20-minute segment, shooting 43 percent (16-of-37) from the field and just 1-of-7 from three-point-land (14 percent).

Clovis, NM freshman Bryce Hill kept the Jags close by pouring in 11 of his game high 15 points in the first half — Hill also hauled in eight rebounds and added a pair of assists and steals for JC.

The game was tied on nine occasions in the first twenty minutes of action.

Jacksonville came right back in the second half by canning a pair of early buckets, one from Darryl Ashford who recorded a double-double (14 points and 11 boards) and a jumper by sophomore guard Da’Shon Barrino to pull within a point, 46-45, with less than a minute having ticked off the clock.

The Blaze worked the lead back to five points, 57-52, with 16:06 left to play before the Jaguars went on a 17-3 spurt over the next six-minutes to forge out an 11-point lead, 71-60.

Derrick Bunton converted a pair of free throws with 1:36 to go that pulled Houston to within seven points, 86-79, but that would be as close as the Blaze would get as JC scored the game’s final five points.

Other Jags logging double-figure scoring performances were, Ivan Reliford with a dozen to accompany nine rebounds (four on the offensive end), sophomore Kenny Franklin of Shreveport, La. with 11, including a pair of three-pointers in the second half and Barrino who fired in 10 to complement his six assists as well.

JC returns home for a Wednesday night game with Shorter College that should begin around 7:30 p.m., following the women’s game between the two schools.

NOTES: The Jags led 54-15 at half-time of Friday’s game with Northwestern (La.) State JV...Barrino fueled the Jags by dumping in 19 points, followed by Eric Kibi with 12, Kevin Hinsey with 11 and Terrance Sims with 10...every Jaguar broke into the scoring column in Friday’s lopsided victory.

     

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.