Getting the win is always important, but for Jamestown boys basketball coach Lee Underwood, Wednesday’s 67-64 victory against Lafayette was as much about the big picture as it was moving back to .500 in the Bay Rivers District.
“We’re getting there,” said a proud Underwood after his Eagles gutted out a three-point victory on their arch rivals’ home court. “Everyone’s starting to believe in one another a little bit, and it’s showing on the court.”
Twice in the second half Lafayette trimmed an eight-point Jamestown lead to a single point, but each time the Eagles responded and never relinquished the lead.
Jamestown’s inexperience showed at times with poor shot selection and fouls late in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles made up for many of their mistakes with hustle plays that proved key down the stretch.
“We took a few really bad shots in that final minute, but we got away with it because we came up with three or four offensive rebounds,” Underwood said. “These are young kids…Outside of one, maybe two guys, they’re all new. They’ve never been in these situations before.
“They’re learning how to win, and that’s the goal right now.”
The game opened the way so many Lafayette – Jamestown rivalries have over the years: with lots of energy and frantic back-and-forth play. It was the Rams who benefited most from the up-tempo pace, jumping out to a 22-18 lead after one as Jaquan Hayes, Marc Rivera and Aaron Ashlock combined for 16 of Lafayette’s first-quarter points.
The Rams (2-5 BRD) also succeeded in their full-court press defense that forced Jamestown into six turnovers in the opening quarter, which enabled the offense to get out and run.
Lafayette’s shooters, however, went ice cold in the second period as the Rams opened the quarter a dreadful 1-11 from the floor. Meanwhile, Jamestown (3-3 BRD) managed to slow the ball and get production out of its half-court offense.
Kenneth Fields, who led Jamestown with 17 points, and point guard Anthony Redcross aggressively attacked the basket earning six straight trips to the free-throw line to open the quarter to pull Jamestown within two, 27-25.
An Xavier Green pull-up tied the game 27-all before Green (14 points), pick-pocketed a Rams’ ball-handler for the easy two at the other end as the Eagles went on to lead 33-30 at halftime.
The third quarter – at least the decisive opening minutes – belonged to Jamestown junior Logan Evans.
Evans scored 12 of his 15 points in the first four minutes of half as the Eagles’ lead quickly grew to 48-37.
Evans opened the third with a layup and then got going with a 3-pointer from the corner before converting two more layups off turnovers.
With Jamestown ahead 45-37, the visiting fans erupted after Evans finished off a beautiful behind-the-back pass from Daivon Turner with a strong three-point play at the hoop pushing the Eagles’ lead to double-digits (48-37).
“Coming out of halftime we told ourselves that we had to pretend the score was 0-0 and come out with the same intensity as a new game,” Evans said. “We expected them to fight back, but it was big for us to get out ahead and put the pressure on them.”
The Rams did in fact claw back courtesy of the long ball.
After Ashlock and John Fitchett exchanged layups, Buchanan and Hayes combined to score nine points on 3-3 shooting from distance as the Rams closed the quarter with a 13-3 run to make it a 51-50 game heading into the final eight minutes.
Buchanan’s second 3-pointer in the final minute of the third came with just two seconds left in the quarter and appeared to shift all the momentum back to the Rams, but Jamestown simply did not allow that to happen.
Fields hit a big 3-pointer from the wing to open the quarter, and after Connor Swain’s stick-back off an offensive rebound, the Eagles were again in control 56-51.
Lafayette didn’t make a field goal until 2:30 to go in regulation when Ashlock’s layup made it 59-56 Jamestown. Fields would then hit back-to-back buckets to put the Eagles ahead 63-58, but after Fitchett knocked down a pair from the charity stripe to make it 63-60, Buchanan banked in a tough left-handed layup to make it a one-point contest, 63-62, with just over a minute to play.
Holding a one-point lead, Jamestown showed little urgency on offense, which forced the Rams to foul.
Fields would make just 1-2 from the line, but Green skied for the offensive rebound and, after being fouled immediately, converted 1-2 free-throw attempts, which gave Lafayette a shot at a game-tying 3-pointer.
Instead, Fields accidentally picked up a foul in the backcourt on Fitchett, who calmly sank 2-2 free-throw attempts to bring the Rams within one, 65-64.
With 22 seconds left, Swain knocked down a pair from the line to put Jamestown back up three. Lafayette was able to draw up a play at half-court, but was unable to get Fitchett, the team’s leading scorer and best shooter, a good look at a last-second shot.
Fitchett managed to score close to his average with 14 points, but was limited to just three made field goals on the game.
“It was a team effort,” Underwood said of his team’s defensive execution against one of the top scorers in the district. “We didn’t focus our defense around one particular person, you just have to always know where [Fitchett] is at all times, whether in man or zone.”
The win bumped Jamestown’s record to 3-3 in the Bay Rivers this season while Lafayette dropped to 2-5 in the district with the loss.
“This was a big win against our rivals,” Evans said. “We’re 3-3, that’s already more wins than last year, and I don’t think we beat these guys last season so it’s a good comeback victory.”
Jamestown 67 Lafayette 64
Jamestown- 18 15 17 16 – 67
Lafayette- 22 8 20 14 – 64
Jamestown (3-3 BRD)- Fields 17, Evans 15, Green 14, Swain 7, Turner 6, Redcross 6, Williams 2. Totals 20 18-27; 67.
Lafayette (2-5 BRD)- Fitchett 14, Hayes 13, Ashlock 12, Buchanan 11, Harris 8, Rivera 6. Totals 18 14-18; 64.
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