Rough start for Jackson

The Jackson boys basketball team took more than its fair share of lumps as it opened league play against two of the top teams in the Western Conference South Division.

The second quarter proved to be the downfall in both games as the Wolfpack was outscored 36-6 in losses to Meadowdale and Mariner. The Mavericks prevailed 69-42 on Dec. 11 and then the Marauders defeated the Wolfpack 51-32 on Dec. 14.

The Timberwolves, who did not return any starters from last year, knew they faced a tall order in their first week of league play.

“Those are two tough teams to start out against,” said sophomore point guard Ryan Todd. “I have no doubt that we’re going to be just fine. Things will only go up from here.”

Jackson’s inexperience was evident in both games as the players are still finding their way at the varsity level, said Wolfpack head coach Steve Johnson.

“It’s just kind of a young team,” he said. ” We definitely lack confidence. When a few bad things happen, we have a tendency to let them snowball. … We can’t stop the bleeding.”

In its league opener, Meadowdale led 18-16 after the first quarter, but then outscored Jackson 18-2 in the second quarter. Todd and junior forward David Sullivan each scored 10 points to lead the Timberwolves. Jackson played a little better against Mariner but again struggled in the second quarter, especially with turnovers. The Marauders led 15-11 after the first quarter and then dominated the second quarter with an 18-4 blitz.

The Timberwolves turned the ball over 12 times in the first half, with eight of them in the second quarter.

“If you look at the rest of the game, we were very competitive,” Johnson said. “Eight turnovers is a lot to overcome. … It seemed that one mistake became two mistakes, three mistakes, four mistakes.”

Though the Marauders defense was a factor in the turnovers, much of the problem was self-inflicted, Johnson added.

“They’re a good defensive team,” he said of Mariner. “A lot of the errors were unforced. Bad passes. Poor decisions. Kids are not used to the playing speed of the varsity game. They need to improve their abilities and skills to handle it.”

Todd saw some playing time as a freshman toward the end of last season.

“A lot of the guys, it’s their first varsity experience,” he said. “First home game. Big crowd. It’s normal for guys to feel a little nervous. But turnovers are not really acceptable for our team.”

Freshman Brett Kingma scored a team-high 11 points against Mariner. Todd added nine points and Sullivan contributed eight. Kingma opened the season with a spectacular 32-point performance in a 68-66 non-conference victory over Wesco North Division rival Cascade. That effort resulted in an increased defensive focus on the Wolfpack freshman standout.

“He got a lot of attention the next two games,” Johnson said. “As the season goes on, he’s going to have to respond to that. He’ll get a lot of extra attention. Other guys need to step up too.”

Added Todd, “He showed he can step up. He’s going to be a guy that is going to score for us. He obviously showed that.”

Johnson is looking for more offense from his team. To accomplish that goal, he’s talked to his players about setting better screens, being more patient, having a better shot selection and getting some transition baskets.

“We have got to improve offensively,” Johnson said. “We had a tough time scoring in those two games, not that the defense was great.”

Jackson is giving up too many easy baskets and conversely the Wolfpack is not getting enough easy baskets. That’s a bad combination, he said.

“We are not forcing nearly as many (turnovers) as we’re making,” Johnson said. “I think we’ll get better. A lot of it is understanding where to be on the floor. A lot of kids are not very experienced with the speed of the game. With experience, we’ll get better.”

Todd added that the Timberwolves need to value each possession and to not be so anxious with the ball.

“We’ve all played in many games,” he said. “We just have to remember to slow down a little bit and make sure we take care of the ball.”

Mariner had an size advantage, as most teams will have against Jackson. At times, the Marauders were a more physical team than Jackson, Todd said.

“It would be nice to be a little more physical and be stronger down low,” Todd added. “I thought we battled pretty good. … Obviously, we’re a little bit undersized. We’re used to the fact that we’re a little bit smaller and have to battle down low.”