The University of Jamestown men's basketball team dominated post play yet again on Wednesday in Crete, Nebraska.
The Jimmies' Mason Walters and Brock Schrom combined for 36 points and 22 rebounds as UJ outrebounded Doane University 44-24 in a 79-64 victory over the Tigers.
With the win, Jamestown completed a two-game Great Plains Athletic Conference sweep in Nebraska heading into Thanksgiving, having snapped a two-game skid at Hastings College on Monday.
"You're talking 6-(foot)-9, 6-8; athletic and just have a knack for the ball," UJ men's basketball coach Danny Neville said of Walters and Schrom. "The last two games (teams) have really been boxing Mason out, just because he's such a good offensive rebounder, and we're going to look at the film and adjust to what they're giving us to see how we can do some different things."
Last season's GPAC freshman of the year isn't exactly struggling. Walters paired 20 rebounds with 13 points in Monday's 77-68 victory at Hastings before leading the Jimmies with 20 points and 12 boards against the Tigers. The former Jamestown Blue Jay is averaging 24.3 points and 13.5 rebounds through eight games.
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Jamestown led Doane by as many as 10 points in the first half and 37-30 at the break before busting down the door over the final 20 minutes. The Jimmies pushed the advantage to 20 at 55-37 with 14 minutes remaining, fueled by an 18-7 run in which the Jimmies seemed to corral every loose ball.
"A lot of those rebounds were defensively, but I thought we did a good job of boxing out and we got some crucial offensive rebounds when it mattered," Neville said.
Neville's offseason find in senior transfer Allante' Pickens is proving to be a major score to a team that was looking to replace three senior guards from last season. Pickens buried four 3-pointers and dished out eight assists.
Sophomore guard Marc Kjos appears to have fully shaken off the rust, burying six 3-pointers on 11 shots for 18 points after missing a pair of games earlier this month. Kjos and Pickens each connected on a pair of 3-pointers during UJ's game-changing run to open the second half.
"They play really well together," Neville said. "They both can really shoot and they're both really good passers, so they complement each other really well."
Defensively, the Jimmies held the Tigers to 40% shooting, including an 0-for-4 spurt from behind the arc as UJ ran up the score with six minutes gone in half No. 2. Max Masin led the Tigers with 20 points, sinking 6-for-6 from 3-point range.
"Anytime you get two road wins in the GPAC it's a good week," Neville said.
The Jimmies improved to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the GPAC. UJ returns from Thanksgiving on Dec. 2 at Presentation College before traveling to take on GPAC opponent Mount Marty in Yankton, South Dakota, on Dec. 5.
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"Just stay safe," Neville said he told his players. "Make sure you're limiting the people that you see, wearing a mask ... because we've got some business to take care of when we get back."
University of Jamestown 79, Doane University 64
UJ 37 42 -- 79
DU 30 34 -- 64
UJ -- Mason Walters 20, Marc Kjos 18, Brock Schrom 16, Allante' Pickens 12, Will Cordes 8, Brady Birch 3, Devan Praska 2. Totals: 29-53 FG, 12-32 3-pointers (Kjos 6, Pickens 4, Cordes 2), 9-20 FT, 44 Rebounds (Walters 12, Schrom 10), 22 Assists (Pickens 8), 12 Fouls, 16 Turnovers, 4 Blocks (Walters 3), 4 Steals (Pickens 3).
DU -- Masin 20, Laravie 12, Harre 9, Hagedorn 6, Sullivan 5, Saiz 4, Oberhauser 2, Witters 2, Burt 2, Grixby 2. Totals: 25-62 FG, 12-38 3-pointers (Masin 6, Laravie 2, Hagedorn 2, Harre, Sullivan), 2-6 FT, 24 Rebounds (Harre 5), 13 Assists (3 with 3), 17 Fouls, 10 Turnovers, 7 Steals (2 with 2).
Records: Jamestown 6-2, 3-1 GPAC. Doane 3-3, 0-1.
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