By Tony Dondero
Enterprise reporter
MILL CREEK
Brett Kingma scored 28 points and Jackson made critical shots and free throws in the final minutes to get past Shorecrest 64-58 on Jan. 22.
Shorecrest’s leading scorer, Mark Golike, fouled out with 5:15 to play after scoring nine of his team-high 15 points in the fourth quarter.
Shorecrest took a 53-48 lead with less than five minutes to go on a basket by Ryan Dodge, but Jackson responded with a 10-0 run.
David Sullivan’s basket with 4:10 to play gave Jackson the lead 54-53, and the Timberwolves never gave it up.
“We made some plays when we were down five,” Jackson coach Steve Johnson said of his young team. “We didn’t panic, that was encouraging. That’s a sign of maturity.”
Shorecrest cut the lead to 58-55 on a pair of free throws by Tommy Kanuch. Shorecrest got a steal but turned the ball over with 1:11 to play. Kingma then converted three of four free throws to extend the lead to 61-55.
Dodge scored and made a free throw with 23 seconds left to cut it to 61-58, but Ryan Todd made three of four free throws in the final seconds to seal the win.
The Timberwolves made 11 of 14 free throws in the fourth quarter (79 percent) and 17 of 23 for the game (74 percent). David Sullivan was 4-for-4 at the line, Ryan Todd was 5-of-6, and Kingma was 6-for-10.
“We pride ourselves on our free throw shooting, because we know we can lose games on free throw shooting and win games on free throw shooting,” Kingma said.
The game was tight throughout, with neither team taking more than a five-point lead, until Jackson broke through in the final minute.
“We didn’t come out as strong. After that big win against Mariner, we got kind of excited,” Kingma said. “We were looking more ahead to districts more than we should have, when we needed to take it one game at a time.”
Kingma had 16 points at the half and scored nine in the fourth quarter. He made five of Jackson’s seven 3-pointers, including several from NBA-range.
“I did score, but my teammates they did so much for me. They set those screens, they hit me with those open passes,” Kingma said.
The Scots’ front line of Golike, Dodge (13 points) and Kanuch (four points) kept Shorecrest close in the second half, but they fell short.
“We just didn’t make enough plays down the stretch, although we did a great job of competing, putting ourselves in the position to win the game. It didn’t happen,” Shorecrest coach Brian Fischer said.
Shorecrest point guard Peter Meyers drained three 3-pointers in the first quarter and finished with 11 points. The Scots had six 3-pointers as a team.
Jackson improved to 7-4 in the Western Conference South Division and sit in fourth place.
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