Varsity Comets Make a Statement, Dominate Jackson on the Road...Move to 5-0 The Grand Ledge Comets made the long trip down a wintery US-127 Tuesday to take on the upstart Jackson Vikings. With a new coach on the sidelines, the undersized Vikings are better than most expected this season, sitting at 3-2 with the two losses coming at the hands of top teams in the state, one of those being rival Lumen Christi in a close one. In the biggest matchup thus far in the CAAC-blue, the Comets knew they would have their hands full. Always a tough road game, the Comets fell at Jackson by 1 in OT last year so they were looking to exercise some demons and make a statement Friday night. The polar vortex outside found it’s way inside of the Jackson gym last night but as soon as that ball dropped in, the Comets proceeded to heat the place up. Coach Lewis had his club primed and ready for the matchup last night saying, “we challenged the team to come out strong because we have started slow in our last couple of games. They accepted the challenge and brought energy and execution.” Taking their Coaches’ challenge to heart, the Comets outscored Jackson 25-9 in the first quarter. It didn’t take long for the Comets to find their offensive rhythm as they pounded the rock inside to junior Josh Horford who proceeded to go to work. Horford asserted himself early and often scoring a season high 17 points and hauling in 11 rebounds. As expected, Jackson tried to utilize their speed and athleticism by bringing their signature full court pressure but the collective ball handling of Grand Ledge’s guards ate it up, leading to transition buckets on the other end. An “under the weather” Malek Adams fought through it last night and his smooth all-around game was on display, finishing with 18 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals. JT Houghton looked like the real deal once again last night as well, scoring 16 points while displaying great shot selection and patience. But as will be the case this year with this team, it wasn’t one or two guys that made the difference. The team depth of the Comets started to shine last night as PG Cassell Jones got in early foul trouble and the Comets didn’t miss a beat. Seniors Stefan Jones, Raheem Robinson, and Cam Conley came off the bench at different points of the ballgame and each provided a big time lift on both ends for the Comets. The Comets easily played their best team basketball thus far this season, working together on both ends to stifle everything the Vikings could throw at them. Grand Ledge strung together one stop after another for three quarters. Coach Lewis had this to say about the performance on the defensive end, “I thought we did a good job playing multiple defenses to not let them get in a rhythm and we held their stud to his lowest scoring game of the year which is what we want to hang our hat on.” The Comet defense shut down Jackson’s best player Shante Suddeth for most of the ballgame, allowing him only 12 on the night. It wasn’t perfect though. The Comets looked like a team that’s capable of accomplishing special things for three quarters but Grand Ledge let off the gas pedal in the fourth, getting sloppy with the ball and allowing the Vikings to make a pretty good run to close the gap. Coach Lewis summed the ballgame up saying, “proud of the collaborative effort tonight. We had a game plan to test their d trans and adjust our defense to slow them down and they did that. We had a lapse in the 4th quarter but give Jackson credit they are a tough team and they didn’t quit. We still haven’t seen 4 quarters out of this team but we got a glimpse of what they can do with 3 solid ones.” Although this game was out of reach, somewhere down the line these Comets will be tested and it will be the little things like maintaining focus and intensity, making free throws, and taking care of the ball that win or lose ballgames. Still, it was an encouraging sign that this group is starting to crank it up a notch. If these guys continue to build that chemistry and play together, watch out. Next Tuesday kicks off a big week for Comet basketball that will start with taking on the Eastern Quakers on Tuesday at 7:00 pm at home. Eastern has struggled thus far this season but they always get up for Grand Ledge. The battle with the Quakers is a typical “trap game” as the matchup with Everett looms large on next Friday’s horizon. Championship teams know not to take any opponent lightly and to never look ahead. This is an Eastern team that beat Grand Ledge last year on their home floor. We will see if the maturity of this club shines through and they can continue their winning ways Tuesday night and earn #onemore W.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 20:27:10 +0000
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