Back in session: Jimmies kick off season with win over Brandon

Win No. 1 as a head coach for Justin Wieck is in the books.

A late flurry of offense by the Jimmies got them some space late as they pulled away from Brandon University 76-67 in front of a nice crowd for this earliest of season-openers at the Civic Center.

“The game is so long. We talk a lot of being able to grind not just physically, but mentally, and I was proud of the way our guys did that tonight,” Wieck said. “There’s a lot of stuff for us to work on, to improve, but I was proud of the way our guys competed. … This was a tough, long game, but we found a way to pull it out.”

The game was stretched out by some expected early-season raggedness, but even more by some active whistles. The game featured 48 fouls. The two teams also committed 21 (Brandon) and 17 (JC) turnovers, respectively.

“We’re still learning each other, trying to develop chemistry, stuff you go through early in the season,” said JC star guard Mark Hoge, who poured in a game-high 25 points. “We got a lot of stuff to work on, but we got a win, that’s what matters.”

It was back and forth for 35 minutes with no lead bigger than seven, but a late flourish by Davon Thomas put it out of reach.

After struggling early, Thomas splashed in consecutive threes late to put the Jimmies up 69-58 with less than three minutes left.

“Davon had a rough start, but he’s a kid we have a lot of confidence in and he has confidence in himself,” Wieck said.

The Jimmies also got a nice lift off the bench from sophomore Taylor Newton, who scored 12 points. Only Hoge and Thomas (13) had more.

“We feel like we have six starters with what Taylor can do,” Wieck said.

Newton also pulled down eight rebounds, a team-high. Hoge dished out five assists to go with his game-high 25 points.

“I’m just trying to do whatever the team needs for us to win. Whatever that is on a given night, I’m happy to do,” Hoge said.

Wieck wasn’t surprised at all by Hoge’s performance.

“He plays so hard. The way he played tonight was the way he played in our first open gym Aug. 27,” Wieck said.

Ali-Mounir Benabdelhak led Brandon with 21 points.

“They’re tough,” Wieck said. “We saw enough on tape to realize this wasn’t going to be easy … and it wasn’t.”

The two teams play again today at 5 p.m.

Jamestown College 76, Brandon University 67

Brandon 31 36 — 67

Jamestown College 34 42 — 76

Brandon — Kenonte Ramsey 6, Ilarion Bonhomme 14, Ali-Mounir Benabdelhak 21, Alex Klocek 2, James Elias 18, Pacome Matulu 2, Turell Scott 1, Peterson Suffrard 3. Totals: 23-59 FG, Three-pointers: 8-26 (Elias 3, Benabdelhak 3, Bonhomme, Suffrard, 13-22 FT, 43 Rebounds (Bonhomme 10, Elias 10), 26 Fouls (Scott 5, Elias 5), 7 Assists (Bonhomme 4), 21 Turnovers, 5 Blocked shots (Elias 5), 5 Steals (Ramsey 2, Benabdelhak 2).

Jamestown College — Jared Sutherland 5, Beny Collins 5, Breshion Tucker 9, Davon Thomas 13, Mark Hoge 25, Taylor Newton 12, Aaron Stemen 3, Dan Janu 4. Totals: 24-62 FG, Three-pointers: 11-27 (Thomas 3, Newton 3, Hoge 2, Tucker, Sutherland, Stemen), 17-27 FT, 43 Rebounds (Newton 8), 22 Fouls (Sutherland 5), 15 Assists (Hoge 5), 17 Turnovers, 3 Blocked shots (Janu 2), 8 Steals (Tucker 3).

Sun sports editor Dave Selvig can be reached at (701) 952-8460 or by e-mail at dselvig@jamestownsun.com

Tags: sports, jimmies, basketball