Published: Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Prep boys basketball: Jackson tops Monroe
Timberwolves avenge earlier loss to Bearcats with 63-50 victory
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Annie Mulligan / For The Herald
Jackson's Sam Brown (center) battles Monroe's Carl Bunge (left) and Desmond Cochran in the fourth quarter of the Timberwolves' 63-50 victory on Wednesday.
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Annie Mulligan / For The Herald
Monroe senior Evan Turner (23) reaches up to block Jackson's Brian Zehr in the fourth period of the Timberwolves' 63-50 victory on Wednesday.
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Annie Mulligan / For The Herald
Jackson's Andrew Dodd jumps to shoot over Monroe's defense during the Timberwolves' 63-50 victory on Wednesday.
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Annie Mulligan / For The Herald
Jackson's Trevor Waite tried to defend against Monroe's Tony Peloquin in the second half of the Timberwolves' 63-50 victory on Wednesday.
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Annie Mulligan / For The Herald
Jackson's Jason Todd (left) gets around Monroe's Dakota Houmann in the third period of the Timberwolves' 63-50 victory on Wednesday. Todd scored a game-high 24 points, grabbed a team-high six rebounds and blocked three shots.
MILL CREEK -- It's possible that the worst thing the Monroe boys basketball team could have done is beat Jackson during the regular season.
The Bearcats did just that, edging Jackson 54-52 at Monroe Jan. 12, and the Timberwolves did not forget.
Wednesday night, this time in front of the home fans in the first round of the 4A District 1 tournament, Jackson (16-5 overall) exacted its revenge. The Timberwolves defeated Monroe 63-50, avenging one of its two league defeats in a game that was not as close as the final score.
"When you lose to a team before and you play them in the playoffs, they certainly have your attention," Jackson coach Steve Johnson said.
Monroe (11-10) won the opening tip and Carl Bunge got the Bearcats rolling with a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Then the Timberwolves unleashed Jason Todd.
The sophomore forward was in on all of Jackson's first 13 points, scoring 11 and assisting Andrew Graff on a wide-open layin.
Jackson raced to a 14-7 lead after one quarter and Monroe never get closer. Todd finished the contest with a game-high 24 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds. He also blocked three shots. Dan Kingma scored 10 points and had five assists. Graff scored eight points.
Todd, who entered the game averaging 19.1 points, didn't expect it to be so easy offensively, but quickly deflected credit to his teammates.
"My team got me in open positions and I was lucky to find open ways," Todd said. "It's a credit to my team. They drove, they found me, they dished when they needed to."
As much credit for Todd's offensive outburst should go to the Monroe defense, which looked a step slow during the first three quarters when Todd scored 22 of his 24 points.
"We got the ball to Jason in positions where he had mismatches inside and out and we were able to take advantage of them," Johnson said.
"The guy pretty much delivers on a consistent basis."
The biggest difference between this victory, which saw Jackson ahead by as much as 24 late in the third quarter, and the Jan. 12 loss to Monroe, was the defense.
"Defensively, certainly compared to the first time we played them, we were much better … so I was pleased with some of the things we did," Johnson said.
Jackson's defense frustrated Monroe's shooters and when the Bearcats did get shots off, they were not on target. Monroe connected on just 30 percent of its shots from the field. Jackson shot 53 percent from the field.
Senior guard Tony Peloquin, who lead Monroe in scoring with 12.2 per game entering the night, was held to just four points.
"He's definitely one of there best players so we focused on him a lot," Todd said.
Terrance Day was bright spot for Monroe, scoring seven points in the first half and finishing with 16. Evan Turner scored 16 as well, but most came when the game was all-but decided.
The victory sends Jackson into the semifinals against Stanwood, which beat Kamiak at home Wednesday. The Spartans are the only other Wesco team to defeat Jackson, but again the Timberwolves get to play host the second time around -- Saturday at 8 p.m.
"I don't think anyone needs a wakeup call to respect them especially when you lost to them," Johnson said of Stanwood. "We lost to them on the road. This time we play them here with a state berth on the line. It's a big game and I think both teams will be ready."
The Timberwolves are the favorites by many to win the District 1 tournament and be the highest-ranked Wesco 4A team at state, but they aren't thinking about the state tournament yet.
"We've got to focus on Saturday now," Todd said. "We can't look at anything beyond that now because if we do, Stanwood's going to get us."
Monroe, meanwhile, must travel to Kamiak to take on the Knights in a loser-out contest, also Saturday night. Those teams will have to win three in a row to advance to the state regional tournament.
At Jackson H.S.
Monroe 7 11 12 20 -- 50
Jackson 14 20 18 11 -- 63
Monroe--Bunge 8, Stevenson 2, Turner 16, Day 16, Peloquin 4, Price 0, Cochran 0, Trujilo 4, Houmann 0. Jackson--Kingma 10, Brown 6, A. Graff 8, Bates 0, Willgress 0, Dodd 5, Todd 24, Zehr 8, K. Graff 0, R. Waite 0, T. Waite 2. 3-point goals--Bunge 1, Day 2, Kingma 2, Turner 2. Records-- Monroe 11-10, Jackson 16-5.
The Bearcats did just that, edging Jackson 54-52 at Monroe Jan. 12, and the Timberwolves did not forget.
Wednesday night, this time in front of the home fans in the first round of the 4A District 1 tournament, Jackson (16-5 overall) exacted its revenge. The Timberwolves defeated Monroe 63-50, avenging one of its two league defeats in a game that was not as close as the final score.
"When you lose to a team before and you play them in the playoffs, they certainly have your attention," Jackson coach Steve Johnson said.
Monroe (11-10) won the opening tip and Carl Bunge got the Bearcats rolling with a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Then the Timberwolves unleashed Jason Todd.
The sophomore forward was in on all of Jackson's first 13 points, scoring 11 and assisting Andrew Graff on a wide-open layin.
Jackson raced to a 14-7 lead after one quarter and Monroe never get closer. Todd finished the contest with a game-high 24 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds. He also blocked three shots. Dan Kingma scored 10 points and had five assists. Graff scored eight points.
Todd, who entered the game averaging 19.1 points, didn't expect it to be so easy offensively, but quickly deflected credit to his teammates.
"My team got me in open positions and I was lucky to find open ways," Todd said. "It's a credit to my team. They drove, they found me, they dished when they needed to."
As much credit for Todd's offensive outburst should go to the Monroe defense, which looked a step slow during the first three quarters when Todd scored 22 of his 24 points.
"We got the ball to Jason in positions where he had mismatches inside and out and we were able to take advantage of them," Johnson said.
"The guy pretty much delivers on a consistent basis."
The biggest difference between this victory, which saw Jackson ahead by as much as 24 late in the third quarter, and the Jan. 12 loss to Monroe, was the defense.
"Defensively, certainly compared to the first time we played them, we were much better … so I was pleased with some of the things we did," Johnson said.
Jackson's defense frustrated Monroe's shooters and when the Bearcats did get shots off, they were not on target. Monroe connected on just 30 percent of its shots from the field. Jackson shot 53 percent from the field.
Senior guard Tony Peloquin, who lead Monroe in scoring with 12.2 per game entering the night, was held to just four points.
"He's definitely one of there best players so we focused on him a lot," Todd said.
Terrance Day was bright spot for Monroe, scoring seven points in the first half and finishing with 16. Evan Turner scored 16 as well, but most came when the game was all-but decided.
The victory sends Jackson into the semifinals against Stanwood, which beat Kamiak at home Wednesday. The Spartans are the only other Wesco team to defeat Jackson, but again the Timberwolves get to play host the second time around -- Saturday at 8 p.m.
"I don't think anyone needs a wakeup call to respect them especially when you lost to them," Johnson said of Stanwood. "We lost to them on the road. This time we play them here with a state berth on the line. It's a big game and I think both teams will be ready."
The Timberwolves are the favorites by many to win the District 1 tournament and be the highest-ranked Wesco 4A team at state, but they aren't thinking about the state tournament yet.
"We've got to focus on Saturday now," Todd said. "We can't look at anything beyond that now because if we do, Stanwood's going to get us."
Monroe, meanwhile, must travel to Kamiak to take on the Knights in a loser-out contest, also Saturday night. Those teams will have to win three in a row to advance to the state regional tournament.
At Jackson H.S.
Monroe 7 11 12 20 -- 50
Jackson 14 20 18 11 -- 63
Monroe--Bunge 8, Stevenson 2, Turner 16, Day 16, Peloquin 4, Price 0, Cochran 0, Trujilo 4, Houmann 0. Jackson--Kingma 10, Brown 6, A. Graff 8, Bates 0, Willgress 0, Dodd 5, Todd 24, Zehr 8, K. Graff 0, R. Waite 0, T. Waite 2. 3-point goals--Bunge 1, Day 2, Kingma 2, Turner 2. Records-- Monroe 11-10, Jackson 16-5.
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