We are part of The Trust Project.
JAMESTOWN — People have come to expect big scoring numbers from the Blue Jay boys' basketball team starters.
But probably no one was expecting those kinds of numbers from Thomas Newman.
"I haven't seen the scorebook but I would assume Thomas Newman was in double digits tonight," JHS head coach Jacoby Lloyd said.
Turns out, Newman wasn't just in double figures — he was the Jays' leading scorer.
Newman's 20 points paced a well-balanced, team win over Watford City on Saturday afternoon. The Jays topped the Wolves 93-65.
ADVERTISEMENT
The win pushes the Jays' record to 4-4 in the WDA and 5-4 overall. The Blue Jays will be back in action on Tuesday at Bismarck St. Mary's. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.
While the Jays' shots had some trouble landing early on, they found their rhythm the more shots they took and soon found themselves up 15-8. Jamestown managed to maintain the lead — something the team has been working on.
Payton Hochhalter was the team's second-leading scorer tallying 18 points while Noah Meissner and Dalton Lamp each recorded 17.
75% of the Blue Jay roster had at least two points — numbers that increase Lloyd's trust in his non-starters.
"Jackson Rose and James Horgan can come off the bench, Jack Van Berkom can come in when a team has another big," Lloyd said. "I need to trust our bench players because they do a really nice job. They've been in our program long enough that they know what I am looking for. They know what our program is about."
Jamestown scored their way to a 21-point lead at the half and then rattled off 12 straight in the first five minutes of the second frame.
"We made the extra pass a lot today," Lloyd said in regard to the Jays' offensive efforts. "We had kids penetrating, getting paint touches and kicking it out to open shooters. Once we get in rhythm and one person makes one, we've got to try and get that person to get a second, a third because that's how they are going to stay hot."
Ryan Larson and Dalton Lamp each hit three 3-pointers while Noah Meissner hit two from beyond the arc.
Watford's first points of the second half came off a deep 3-pointer fired at the 14:40 mark. The Wolves were just seven points off of the Blue Jays' second-half total but
ADVERTISEMENT
"I thought we did some really good things," Lloyd said. "Defensively we had a big ah-ha moment at the end of the game that is going to solve a lot of our issues. We're moving in the right direction. Overall, I liked what we did today."
Jamestown 93, Watford City 65
WC 30 35 — 65
JHS 51 42 — 93
WC — Jahneim Samuel 26, Leo Predonzan 14, Landon Caldwell 9, Eli Lawrence 6, Derek Holen 4, Colton Ewing 3, Josiah Rojas 3. 21 FG, 16-25 FT, 21 fouls. 3-pointers: Samuel 5, Predonzan 2.
JHS — Thomas Newman 20, Payton Hochhalter 18, Noah Meissner 17, Dalton Lamp 17, Ryan Larson 9, Mason Lunzman 5, James Horgan 3, Jack Van Berkom 2, Caydann Cox 2. Totals: 33 FG, 20-24 FT, 20 fouls. 3-pointers: Larson 3, Lamp 3, Meissner 2, Hochhalter 1, Lunzman 1, Horgan 1.
