Jaguars roar to the top of 27-6A standings
Johnson boys basketball coach Jay Keller questioned his team’s urgency at times Friday. On other occasions, he lamented his players’ decision-making and aggressiveness.
What’s not up for debate, though, is the result.
The No. 6 Jaguars rode a big second half past Roosevelt 61-49 at Littleton Gym in a showdown for first place in District 27-6A.
“We trust (Keller) a lot,” said Johnson senior guard Kyle Dow, who scored a game-high 16 points. “He’s got to get us on track sometimes. Once we get out of whack, he’ll be there just to tell us what to do.”
The message was well received over the final 16 minutes.
Johnson (18-8, 5-0) outscored the Rough Riders (16-10, 4-1) 33-20 after halftime, including a heave from near halfcourt by Dow as time expired at the end of the third quarter. Dow’s 3-pointer pushed the Jaguars’ lead to 41-36 entering the final frame.
“That gave a lot of momentum to us,” Dow said. “My team was down a little bit, (but it) made us all pick pur heads up. Nobody expected it to go in. That just gave us a little rush to go into the fourth.”
Johnson senior wing Jakob Wrenn had 13 points, senior guard Zach Keller tallied 11 and senior center Brody Ellingsworth contributed 10 — all in the second half — for the Jaguars, who three days earlier scored in the waning seconds to edge South San 3534 and remain unbeaten in league competition.
The balanced scoring allowed the Jaguars to bounce back from a slow start and finish in the first half. Roosevelt led 29-28 at halftime as guard David Adkins sliced through Johnson’s defense for a layup as time expired.
Adkins led Roosevelt with 11 points. He was his team’s only player to score in double figures.
“We just play as a team,” Dow said. “We trust each other. I think that’s partially the reason why we’re so good at the end, closing out the game.”
The Jaguars’ finish was far better than their start. They had four turnovers and missed their first four attempts to fall in an early hole but recovered to get within a point after the first quarter as Zeller made two of three free throws.
“We were kind of nervous at the beginning,” Dow said. “But we picked it up.”