by MASSILLON, Ohio– Jackson head coach Tim Debevec had a feeling his team was going to be ready for a crucial Federal League showdown with McKinley Friday night. With the help of Canton GlenOak defeating Green and the win for Jackson, they’ve earned rights to a share of the Federal League title.
“Our kids played well, we were focused after Tuesday,” Debevec said. “A lot of our guys put in a lot of work….These guys worked hard and they deserve it.”
Buckets came at a premium throughout the first half with the Polar Bears doing a sound job of keeping the Bulldogs from scoring inside the paint. They wouldn’t score the final two minutes of the first quarter as the Polar Bears led 13-8 after one.
The pace of play picked up closing out the first half as both teams were able to get more comfortable and find open looks within their offense. The Polar Bears started to break open the game by limiting the Bulldogs on the glass and transition points.
Cole Baker scored a team-high 8 points for the Polar Bears in the first half as he benefited by using his size to his advantage. With that, his team was able to come away and secure a double-digit lead for closing two minutes of the half as they would outscore the Bulldogs 21-14 in the second quarter to head into halftime with a 34-22 lead.
“We told them to keep attacking and they did,” Debevec said about what the halftime message was to keep their lead afloat throughout the second half.
Foul trouble headlined a third quarter that got away from the Bulldogs and it started with point guard Je’Cis Moody as he picked up his fourth foul of the game five minutes into the second half. The Polar Bears would take advantage and end the final three minutes of the quarter on a 14-7 run to take a commanding 55-37 lead after three quarters.
With Moody in foul trouble, Reed Sims Jr. did all he could to get his team back within reach as he scored 14 points in the second half. Kyle Monterrubio, Cole Baker and Cameron Weekley had other plans as the trio headlined a second half of runs, fast break points and 3-pointers that ultimately kept the game out of reach for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs never got closer than 15 points in the fourth quarter with the Polar Bears controlling the pace of play and points in the paint.
Mitch Finefrock even knocked down a couple of corner 3-pointers that seemed to kill any momentum the Bulldogs thought they had coming.
In the end, Finefrock, Monterrubio, Weekley and Baker paced their team during the win by all scoring in double figures. Finefrock finished with 12, Monterrubio with 16 points, Weekley with 14 and a team-high 18 points from Baker.
As for the Bulldogs, Sims Jr. led the way with a game-high 24 points during the loss. Anthony Chavers had nine along with eight points from Davey Thompson.
