Dallas Jesuit - The McKinney Lions (13-4; 4-0) erased an 11-point halftime deficit to the Dallas Jesuit Rangers (7-13; 0-4), and won the game 53-42. The Lions were led by 6-foot-4 freshman guard, Ja’Kobe Walter, and his 16 points, which all came in the second half of play.
The Rangers took a 21-10 advantage into the locker room as they held the Lions to only 1-point in the second quarter. Head coach Wes Watson of McKinney had a simple message at half-time and his team responded.
“We forced a lot of tough shots and tried to make things happen [on the offensive end] when nothing was there. We’ve been in these types of situations before and I have to give credit to the kids for keeping their composure and for building momentum.”
The tone was set within seconds of the start of the third quarter as sophomore Alex Anamekwe leaped off the floor to throw down a thunderous alley-oop, and fellow sophomore guard Delvin Vincent was able to get penetration and make contact to get the free-throw line.
“It took a lot of mental toughness to get this win and [Dallas Jesuit’s] crowd makes this gym a hard place to play. Playing here is one of the toughest environments that you will ever come across in high school basketball.
“We kept our composure and Delvin got involved and got into a rhythm as he was able to get to the free-throw line and get comfortable. Alex was great on the boards and defensively made a lot of stops, and blocks to allow us to stay in the game and then get the lead.”
The Lions kept the momentum moving forward as they finally grabbed the lead with 29-seconds left in the third off Walter’s fourth three-pointer of the third.
“The word ‘Special” and “Elite” gets thrown around a lot and overused. But that’s what it looks like in [Jakobe]. He is gifted as a scorer and he plays and gives everything he can on the defensive side too.”
McKinney took a two-point lead into the fourth, 32-30 and their lead grew to double-figures and the Rangers could never get closer than seven points of the lead.
What’s next?...
McKinney will take the court tonight (Friday) against crosstown rivals McKinney Boyd and will have to face Prosper and Allen next week, all on the road.
Dallas Jesuit looks to get in the win column tonight against Plano East who sits at 2-2 in District 9-6A.
Keep an eye on…
Alex Anamekwe (8 points; 9 rebounds) is a jumping jack who gets to the boards and is around the paint to alter and block shots. Anamekwe gave the Rangers problems as he was quick off the floor as a defender coming from the weakside. Devin Vincent (12 points; 7-for-8 from the free-throw line) was good down the stretch of the game as he was taking the ball to the basket and creating contact.
Ja’Kobe Walters (16 points; 4 three-pointers) was doing it all for McKinney as a ball-handler and a scorer. Walters ability to shoot the three was a big part of the Lions’ success in the third quarter and his decisions with the ball in his hands make him a dual-threat.
Unsigned Senior Darryl Brown showed that his game has matured and he can be a handful when he gets position on the block. He is long and used he reach to get the ball off the offensive glass for putbacks. Brown also did a great job of backing down the defense and scored over his shoulders.
Even though junior shoot guard Gavin Perryman had an off night, he is a three-point threat and has a lot of guard skills and takes the ball strong to the basket.
