San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Cougars hold off Jaguars for 28-6A title
Clark overcame several late Johnson comeback attempts in a 69-62 victory Friday night at Littleton Gym to secure the District 28-6A tournament championship.
After the final whistle blew, Clark coach Steve Sylestine embraced each of his players individually in an emotional moment.
“I’m just so happy for our seniors,” Sylestine said. “Most of them have been at Clark for four years. Most of them have come up through our middle schools, so it was so gratifying just to see them develop, not just as players, but as young men.”
Clark (18-2) scored five consecutive points to open the game, but Johnson (14-2) responded with a 9-0 run led by Joseph Taylor, who connected on two field goals inside, and Shane Johnson, who knocked down a couple of 3s to give the Jaguars their first lead.
Johnson scored eight points in the first quarter but was just heating up and added another 11 in the second. The senior guard drilled a contested 3 from the left wing to give Johnson a 30-27 lead midway through the second quarter as he continued to terrorize the Clark defense. Moments later, he was pushed to the ground at the freethrow line, and on his way to the ground, he tossed up a one-handed floater that found the bottom of the net. He converted the and-one at the foul line to cut the deficit to two late in the half.
Clark point guard Jordan Mason was held scoreless in the first quarter but got involved offensively in the second, scoring nine points and dishing out three assists. Mason finished the half with a lefthanded layup as time expired to extend the Cougars’ lead to 37-33.
Clark forward Jakobi White made an impact on the defensive end of the floor in the third, drawing energetic praise from the crowd after emphatically blocking consecutive shots down low.
“He just really raised our level,” Sylestine said. “I think it was really good for us. We were kind of flat at the time, and he really helped us.”
Mason scored four consecutive points to open the fourth quarter, the second basket turning into a four-point possession after White pulled down a missed free throw and laid it back in. Johnson guard LJ Brown sank a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 56-50 with six minutes left as the Jaguars refused to let the Cougars pull away.
With two minutes to play, Johnson drove into double coverage and put a layup high off the glass to bring the Jaguars to within two. Johnson had a chance to tie the game at 63, but missed a 3-pointer, and Clark pulled down the rebound. Cougars guard Jason Osonma, who tallied the game’s only double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, threw down a twohanded slam to increase their lead to 65-60 with 50 seconds left to play, effectively putting the game out of reach.
Mason led the Cougars with 20 points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal in his first action since mid-January.
“Just a lot of grit,” Sylestine said. “He carries a big load running the point. He was a big leader tonight.”
Johnson finished with a gamehigh 28 points, including four 3pointers, for the Jaguars to go with six rebounds, one assist and a steal. Sylestine said his slower second half was more of a lucky break than anything the Cougars were able to do defensively.
“It was impossible to slow him down,” Sylestine said. “I mean, he just happened to miss a couple of shots. We tried to get up on him, but then he would drive by us. He’s just too good of a player.”
Clark will learn of its first postseason opponent early next week, but in the meantime, Sylestine said his team will be grinding in practice.
“We’re going to try to get better every day,” he said.