Shiflett scores 29 as Lions withstand Leopards in Lakeside Classic
Braxton Shifflet put up 29 points as he led Jessieville to a 69-65 win over Malvern Thursday evening in the Lakeside Classic at the Lakeside Athletic Complex.
The senior guard put up 16 points in the fourth quarter alone while pulling down six rebounds.
“He knows he’s going to have to play with the ball in his hands a lot more, and he’s done a really, really good job so far being more aggressive,” Jessieville head coach Jared White said. “He’s going to have some turnovers because he’s trying to play a little bit differently as he adjusts to his role.
“He’s got to score more this year. He knows that. He’s looked really, really, really good in that role the first two games of the season. I hope it continues. He’s just solid. He’s a crafty, crafty basketball player, and he’s tough to guard.”
With just a single-point lead at halftime, 29-28, the Lions managed
to pull to a 10-point lead with 1:49 left in the third frame before Malvern closed out the quarter on a
10-2 run to pull within 47-45. A bucket by Landon Daley and two by Shifflet stretched Jessieville’s lead out to eight points with just 1:35 off the clock in the final period, but Malvern pulled within
55-53 with 4:18 remaining. A pair of free throws by Chase Pedersen pushed the Jessieville lead back out to six, but that was as far ahead as the Lions could get as Malvern ended on a 7-5 run to set the final.
The Leopards managed to get out to a 14-7 lead with 2:21 left in the first quarter on a trey by Logan Schneider, but Jessieville held Malvern scoreless for the remainder of the period to pull within 14-11.
“We did want to schedule a little bit tougher this year,” White said. “I felt like in the postseason, we ran into some teams and some situations where we lacked a little bit of game experience. Any time we can play a game that early, come out with a win, go back and be able to talk about situations, it’s a really good thing.
“I was proud of some of the young guys that stepped up and had to play some minutes. It was the first time we really had to battle foul trouble this year, and we had to get into our bench a little bit. They came in and made plays, and I’m proud of them.”
Shifflet opened the second quarter with a trey to knot the score, but Malvern again managed to pull out to a six-point lead with
4:37 left in the half, 25-19. The two teams continued to battle, but the Lions put up six points in the final
2:10 to take the one-point buffer into the break.
“I don’t think we played very well,” said Malvern head coach Jess Martin. “Obviously, we had way too many turnovers early, and that kind of caught up with us.
“We made a run and got back in the game, but they made some shots, and we didn’t. We had a lot of open looks, and we obviously didn’t make them. Other than that, I’m very, very disappointed in our squad.”
Shifflet shot 54 percent from the field and made three of four at the free throw line. Tyler Holloway put up 17 for the Lions with eight rebounds, two steals and an assist, and B.J. Holloway ended with nine points, three rebounds, three steals and an assist. Pedersen led the team with five assists.
The Lions shot 46 percent from the field and 37 percent from distance.
“At halftime, we were right about 32 percent,” White said. “We had made a couple threes, but we weren’t shooting it particularly well. We were shooting it really quick. I felt like if we could slow it down, we could get better shots, more quality shots.
“We got out in transition a few times, and we were a little bit out of control, maybe a little bit hurried up, and we still managed to make some shots. That was good to see.”
Dakovon Blackmon led Malvern with 23 points while grabbing six rebounds, three steals and dishing out three assists before fouling out. Logan Schneider finished with 13 points with six rebounds and four steals, and Aaron Jones had 12 points with five rebounds.
“Bottom line is they played better than us,” Martin said. “They made a few more plays than we did, and that’s why they won. They played a little harder; they played a little smarter and made a couple more plays. We didn’t play very well, but that’s a credit to them.”
Jessieville is set to face Sylvan Hills at 10 a.m. today in the Lakeside Athletic Complex. Malvern is playing in the Brookland Classic this weekend before its home opener Tuesday against Camden Fairview.