JETS WIN 13TH IN ROW, ACAC TITLE AS POLING BREAKS SCORING RECORD
MONROE—There was a lot going right for Adams Central Friday night in the Hangar. Playing their rivals, the South Adams Starfires, the Jets had a chance to win a share of an ACAC title, extend their school-record winning streak and crown a new all-time leading scorer.
They did all three with ease.
A 13th win in succession clinched the conference title and senior Ethan Poling led all scorers with 27 points to move ahead of Kevin Brown as the all-time leading scorer in the school’s long basketball history. The Jets won the contest 64-20.
“He had a great game and it is a neat honor after a great four-year career,” noted AC head man Aaron McClure. “He still has, hopefully, a lot of games left.”
After having already beaten the Starfires in the ACAC tournament, there was little doubt as to how this one was going to go. Nevertheless, it was a momentous night for the home team, who played in front of over 1000 home fans.
“This win solidifies us as top team in the conference and breaks school record for win streak, that’s a pretty good night,” noted McClure, who wanted to make sure to circle back to his senior.
“He’s a kid who works hard at the game,” McClure said of Poling. “He’s a throwback guy down in the post but he’s so versatile out on the wing, knocking down threes. He’s humble and the way he goes about himself, it’s that much more fun to get to the win tonight.”
There was little excitement in the final outcome of the contest, with Poling putting Adams Central ahead 17-5 with two free throws and then a putback on the next possession early in the first quarter. It was 23-7 after the first eight minutes, with the Jets eager to share the ball around, especially in transition. That unselfishness was not necessarily in the team’s best interest, costing the Jets a couple of points on turnovers, much to the chagrin of coach McClure, who had to find something negative in a game that was nearly all positives for AC.
South Adams found no penetration down low against the lanky and agile Jet zone, struggling to find any close shots and accepting five blocked shots in the first half.
“Our zone works because of our quickness and height and the way Poling plays in the middle and the way Isaac closes down shooters and then Braylend can extend,” McClure explained. “Then you have Ryan and Micah out there pestering guys. Holding Leo to 44 points, that was a good sign. We have been pretty good over the last month or so.”
Seemingly constantly in transition, the Jets led 32-7 with four minutes remaining in the half and Poling was already in double digits when he scored off a beautiful pass from Max Hamilton late in the half.
“I told our guys that it was our goal to come out and play 32 minutes of good, solid, fundamental basketball,” said McClure. “We hit a couple of early shots and got out in transition and were able to cruise from there.”
The Jets led 45-12 after a lopsided first half, finishing 17 of 26 from the field and 9 of 9 from the line in a segment of the game where they doubled up the Starfires in rebounding, despite the visitors attempting just 18 shots in 16 minutes.
That 2-3 zone of coach McClure’s created 16 turnovers in the first half.
“The last time we played we got out really quick and it was something we wanted to do coming in, but you still have to come out and play. I told our guys that we needed to be ready for them to come out and make a run after the way they played against Canterbury and Parkway.”
In the second half, it was all about Poling.
The Jets prompted the running clock immediately in the second half with the opening bucket and Isaac Schultz, who finished with 11 points, pushed the lead to 40 points with an old-fashioned three-point play in the third quarter. His free throw kept the Jets perfect at the charity stripe.
Adams Central only mustered nine points in a fairly sloppy third quarter, but the Starfires never found the basket and failed to score a single point in the third.
Poling’s first three of the game moved him to within a bucket of Brown with 24 points at the start of the fourth quarter.
Tytus Lehman finally got into the scorebook with his first six points coming in the first three minutes of the fourth for the Starfires.
The big points for Poling came from behind the arc again, showing the senior’s versatility as he moved to 1198 career points with three minutes to play to give Adams Central a 61-20 lead. McClure immediately removed Poling from the contest and, somewhat fittingly, he was replaced by Kolton Littler. The junior nailed a three on his first shot of the game after replacing the AC legend and did it with confidence after leading all scorers in the JV game with 21 points.
The Jets will play Eastside tonight at home.