MILL CREEK — Jackson head coach Steve Johnson said he expects most of the Wesco 4A games to be close this season. Lucky for him, his team has found a way to win every one of those close games so far.
Jackson improved to 6-0 in league and 7-4 overall with a 63-61 win over Kamiak on Tuesday. With the win, the Timberwolves open up a two-game lead in conference play. They face Mariner on Friday with a chance to sweep the league in the first-half of the conference schedule.
Tuesday’s game played out like Jackson head coach Steve Johnson thinks a lot of the games in the league will play out this season — close throughout. Neither team led by more than six points. Jackson trailed 61-59 with just over a minute left, but the Timberwolves scored the game’s final four points to secure the win.
“I think there is going to be a lot of close games this year, so we better be good at close games,” Johnson said.
“That was the epitome of back-and-forth, literally the entire game,” he added. “To play in an intense game and have to overcome some foul trouble and some self-inflicted stuff like turnovers in critical times and some plays they made that you have to give them credit for, it does mean something. I’d rather learn lessons in a win than a loss.”
Kamiak freshman Carson Tuttle came off the bench in the second quarter to spark the Knights. His nine points in the second quarter provided the energy Kamiak needed to take a lead at halftime.
Tuttle’s final shot of the game looked like it might give the Knights the win when he came off a screen and knocked down his third 3-pointer of the night, but a jumper by junior Sam Saufferer, who finished with 17 points, and a driving layup by senior Dolan Tierney in the final seconds gave Jackson a two-point lead.
“We definitely wanted to be a little more aggressive and get the ball going to the basket,” Johnson said of this team’s strategy late in the game. “We did run a couple of sets their late in the game and we got the ball to the right guy.”
Tierney had missed several shots leading up to his layup that gave the Timberwolves the win. It’s the second game-winner for him in less a week’s time. Last Tuesday, he made a 15-foot jump shot that proved to be the difference against Monroe.
“He’s developing a short memory,” Johnson said. “He had a charge and another turnover in the final three or four minutes that was fairly critical, but then he stepped up and made that shot. The same thing at Monroe. He kind of struggled a little bit and then made the big one. It’s nice to see him have resiliency.”
Tuttle had a look from half court and the buzzer that had the length, but missed to the left. He led Kamiak with 17 points.
“He’s a really good player,” Johnson said. “He’s good on the pick-and-roll. He’s a really good shooter with a quick release. He’s strong to the basket. He’s tough. The next line that would logically come is that he’s pretty young too. Good for them and not good for us.”
Aaron Lommers covers prep sports for The Herald. Follow him on Twitter at @aaronlommers and contact him at alommers@heraldnet.com.
At Jackson H.S.
Kamiak 15 19 13 14 — 61
Jackson 16 15 16 16 — 63
Kamiak—Christian Clausen 0, Carson Tuttle 17, Chance Lord 6, Jase Wiley 6, Trevor Gray 2, Marcel McQueen Jr. 0, Coleman Grayson 11, Gavin Patrick 11, Andrew Foote 6, Keller Whitney 0, Nate Shubert 2. Jackson—Frank Rossi 15, Dolan Tierney 6, Ian Willgress 0, Brian Brown 6, Markus Sullivan 0, Connor Marschall 0, Yegor Gorbenko 11, Ethan Hammond 0, Parker Manalo 3, Sam Saufferer 17, Colton Faddis 5. 3-point goals—Tuttle 3, Rossi 3, Saufferer 3, Manalo 1. Records—Kamiak 4-2 league, 8-4 overall. Jackson 6-0, 7-4.
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