Jimmies hang on, start season 2-0
Justin Wieck and Gil Cheung came to similar conclusions following the second of their team’s back-to-back games against each other Saturday at the Civic Center.By: Dave Selvig, The Jamestown Sun, The Jamestown Sun
- Aaron Stemen
- Taylor Newton
Justin Wieck and Gil Cheung came to similar conclusions following the second of their team’s back-to-back games against each other Saturday at the Civic Center.
Playing the same team twice in the span of 22 hours is tough.
For the second straight day the Jimmies found a way to prevail, thus opening the season 2-0 under their new head coach.
“We knew it’d be a grind. (Brandon) is big, physical, tough. … This was a real test for our guys, but I’m proud of the way we fought through it,” Wieck said. “Now we can back off them a little bit. Let them take a break. As a coaching staff we’ll take a close look at what we did and make the necessary adjustments for us to be a better basketball team.”
The Jimmies looked like they were ready to pull away Saturday in front of another nice crowd, which was encouraging, considering the game began less than an hour after the gut-wrenching loss the JC football team suffered.
When Taylor Newton knocked down the second of his two three-pointers the Jimmies pushed their lead to 41-30 midway through the second half.
But the determined Bobcats never went away and were right in it until the end.
“I like the way our guys competed,” Brandon coach Gil Cheung said. “Obviously, it wasn’t pretty at times, but they have a good team. Clearly, they’re buying into what their coach wants them to do and I’m sure they’ll have another good season. Hopefully we will too.”
The Jimmies knocked down 11 three-pointers for the second straight game. Two big ones late by Mark Hoge, off a crisp feed from Breshion Tucker, and Davon Thomas gave the Jimmies the cushion they needed.
“We made big shots. We didn’t necessarily shoot the ball well, but I thought a number of times we made the extra pass which led to some open shots, and getting open shots against those guys is not easy to do,” Wieck said.
Hoge and Jared Sutherland each had 12 points to lead the Jimmies. Thomas finished with 11 and Newton added nine off the bench.
Ali-Mounir Benabdelhak and Kenonte Ramsey each had 15 for the Bobcats, who were without three key players because of injury.
“Big picture, it’s Oct. 13, so you don’t get too excited about anything,” Cheung said. “The big thing is we got tape. Now we can go break down what we did, and specifically the areas we need to improve.
“It was fun to come here and play these two games. It was good for us.”
Wieck had a similar analysis. The season is long, but they had a crash course in preparing for the early tip off.
“We preach all the time about the season being a marathon, but in this case it was an 11-day sprint to get ready,” the JC coach said. “We’ve worked our guys long and hard and I was proud of their effort both in practice and in these two games. I think it’s a good starting point we can build from.”
Jamestown College 58, Brandon 54
Brandon 24 30 — 54
Jamestown College 29 29 — 58
Brandon University — Kenonte Ramsey 15, Ilarion Bonhomme 4, Ali-Mounir Benabdelhak 15, Alex Klocek 2, James Elias 5, Pacome Matulu 4, Michael Smith 4, Jordan Reaves 2, Peterson Suffrard 3. Totals: 17-59 FG, Three-pointers: 5-20 (Benabdelhak 2, Ramsey, Bonhomme, Elias), 15-21 FT, 48 Rebounds (Ramsey 10), 15 Fouls (Benabdelhak 5), 12 Assists (Bonhomme 7), 18 Turnovers, 4 Blocked shots (4 with 1), 2 Steals (2 with 1).
Jamestown College —Jared Sutherland 12, Beny Collins 4, Breshion Tucker 3, Davon Thomas 11, Mark Hoge 12, Taylor Newton 9, Aaron Stemen 3, Dan Janu 1. Totals: 21-64 FG, Three-pointers: 11-27 (Newton 3, Hoge 2, Thomas 2, Sutherland 2, Tucker, Stemen), 5-10 FT, 44 Rebounds (Hoge 8), 21 Fouls, 15 Assists (Tucker 5), 2 Blocked shots (Janu, Tucker), 5 Steals (Tucker 2).
Sun sports editor Dave Selvig can be reached at (701) 952-8460 or by e-mail at dselvig@jamestownsun.com
Tags: college sports, sports, basketball, jimmies
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