SILER CITY — While seizing early momentum can get you off to a good start, being able to maintain it is what matters the most.
After falling behind in the first minute-and-a-half of play, Jordan-Matthews ran off 12 unanswered points to take control and never allowed Eastern Randolph to mount a serious challenge as the Jets placed four starters in double figures while gliding to a 61-49 PAC 7 2A Conference triumph Tuesday evening on John Phillips Court.
Winning its league opener, J-M climbed to 4-2 for the season, while the Wildcats slipped to 0-1 in the conference and 2-4 overall.
Jayden Davis led Jordan-Matthews’ offense with 20 points and Camden Fuquay collected 14, while Huston Causey and Jacquez Thompson finished with 10 apiece. The Jets connected on 25-of-56 (45%) of their field goal attempts but were edged out 28-27 on the glass while turning the ball over 20 times.
Osiris Ross came off the bench to top Eastern Randolph with 11 points while Kaeman Marley added 10. Although the Wildcats shot 15-of-42 (36%) from the floor, they were hampered by 29 turnovers.
“After we spotted Eastern Randolph a couple of quick baskets, our defensive press took over by forcing turnovers that allowed us to get out and run,” said J-M coach Rodney Wiley. “We transitioned from defense to offense very well tonight which led to a lot of easy baskets, but our own turnovers kept us from stretching the lead.
“For us to be successful we need balanced scoring,” said Wiley, “preferably with three-to-four guys in double figures, and I was really pleased we had four players fill that need this evening. Huston gave our offense a big spark in the first quarter while Jayden led us all night, Camden played his usual strong game around the basket and Jacquez had a big game in the paint.”
Wildcats’ coach LaShawn Robinson explained his team is still trying to develop chemistry and find its identity as a group.
“We’ve got some talent, but we’re inexperienced,” related Robinson. “We continue working on putting it all together and understanding how to sustain momentum. We need to approach the game with more urgency and rebound better, because when you don’t do a good job on the boards it makes your opponent’s transition game a lot easier.”
Following a trey from the right wing by Landon Collins and Landon Loflin’s put-back in the lane that staked Eastern Randolph to a quick 5-0 advantage, back-to-back Causey three-pointers ignited Jordan-Matthews’ 12-0 run and the Jets would never trail again.
After extending its lead to 18-10 on Thompson’s jumper off the left baseline to close out the first quarter, J-M went up 23-14 on a Davis trey from the left corner with 5:44 to go in the second stanza before the Wildcats trimmed the gap to five on Cade Snotherly’s layup at the 3:42 mark.
But a Davis fast break layup with 29.2 seconds remaining in the opening half allowed Jordan-Matthews to rebuild a nine-point cushion (31-22) at intermission.
Consecutive Marley layups three minutes into the third period got Eastern Randolph within 35-29 prior to the Jets capping off the quarter with a 6-2 spurt to reestablish a double-digit advantage entering the final stanza.
A Collins jumper from the right wing with 5:41 to play once again drew the Wildcats within six at 44-38, but a Davis three-pointer from the right side two minutes later climaxed a 9-0 J-M burst that gave Jordan-Matthews its biggest lead of the night to put the contest out of reach.