MILL CREEK — Jason Todd remembers sitting in the stands at Jackson High School watching his older siblings compete for the Timberwolves. He cheered as brother Ryan helped lead the school to a runner-up finish at last year’s Class 4A state tournament en route with an all-Wesco performance.
Jason watched and waited his turn. That turn came Tuesday and the younger Todd didn’t disappoint.
With star guard Brett Kingma spending most of the fourth quarter on the bench, Todd, a 6-foot-5 freshman, had a spectacular all-around debut and led the Timberwolves to a season-opening 74-63 victory over Decatur at Jackson High School.
The game was a rematch of last season’s thrilling state quarterfinal game that Jackson won 58-54 on a four-point play by Kingma in the final seconds. And while Kingma had a game-high 30 points Tuesday, it was Todd who was the difference-maker, finishing with 15 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals.
“I knew he was a talented athlete and I knew he would contribute, but I didn’t expect that,” Jackson coach Steve Johnson said. “But I’m not shocked. He’s always played against older kids. He’s not afraid of going against older kids.”
Todd said his older brother, who is now on scholarship at Seattle Pacific, prepared him for his first high school game.
“Ever since I really started watching my brother his sophomore year, I’ve been waiting for this,” Todd said. “He told me to just come out and play like I usually do, so I didn’t feel nervous and didn’t feel pressure. I just went out and played.”
Todd stepped up in a big way when his team needed him the most. Kingma went to the bench with about two minutes remaining in the third quarter after picking up his fourth foul. Decatur, which dropped from Class 4A to 3A this season, immediately took the lead on an Austen Wilson put-back to cap a 9-0 run that put the Gators up 51-50. The Timberwolves answered with a 7-0 spurt including back-to-back jump shots by Sam Brown and a 3-pointer by Todd for a 57-51 lead.
The Timberwolves held a slim advantage into the fourth when Todd really took over. First, he zipped a perfect entry pass from the top of the key to Austin O’Keefe whose layup made it 60-56. At 62-58, Todd again found O’Keefe with an excellent pass down low, and then the freshman made steals on back-to-back Decatur possessions. Next, Todd snatched an offensive rebound and passed to Mason Gilchrist for a jumper that made it 66-58 with three minutes to go.
Kingma came back with 2:17 to play but Decatur hung around. With the score 68-62 and just under two minutes to play, Todd got another offensive rebound and assist to O’Keefe for an eight-point lead that essentially put the game away.
Kingma said he was surprised to stay on the bench for so long but was happy to see the rest of the team rally, including Todd.
“Watching the guys step up, they really played well and that’s what we have to do,” the Oregon-bound guard said. “I don’t think (Todd) surprised us, but I’m sure he surprised a lot of people.”
“He’s a great athlete and had a great all-around performance,” Johnson said of Todd. “Especially when we really, really needed it.”
The game was competitive from the start, with the teams trading mini-runs but neither really pulling away, They went into the locker room tied at 31 at halftime. A Todd layup with 3:46 to go in the third gave Jackson a 50-42 lead but Decatur used a 9-0 run that included six points — all on putbacks — by Wilson to take the lead.
O’Keefe had 12 points and Gilchrist had 10 for Jackson, which plays at Glacier Peak on Friday. Jerron Smith had 28 points for Decatur but he didn’t have a field goal in the last 10½ minutes. Wilson added 19 points — 14 in the third quarter — for Decatur, which only had four players score.
At Jackson H.S.
Decatur1318239—63
Jackson15162617—74
Decatur — Dom Hunter 12, Yohiness Jennings 0, Ramere Rollins 0, Austin Wilson 19, Jerron Smith 28, Kevin Locascio 0, Brenden Williams 0, Chris Castro 0, Julian Alabaster 4. Record — 0-1. Jackson — Chima Acholonu 3, Brett Kingma 30, Sam Brown 4, Andrew Graff 0, Andrew Bray 0, Jason Todd 15, Austin O’Keefe 12, Mason Gilchrist 10, Trevor Waite 0. Records—Decatur 0-1 overall. Jackson 1-0.
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