Back To Winning

“For me, I’m a tough critic. I think we can put together a more complete game,” Jamestown head coach Raheem Singleton said. “We let our offense dictate our defense. It’s nice when the shots are dropping, but I try to get them to understand the bigger picture. Defense is definitely our staple. That’s what I’m trying to get them to buy into.”

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Jamestown, which returned to the .500 mark on the season with a 6-6 record in the Atlantic Northeast Division. Last-place Glass City fell to 1-9 in the Midwest Division.

“Anytime you can get a win in a very competitive league — the third highest-ranked league in the U.S. — it’s big,” Singleton said. “You can’t take anybody lightly. Everybody on paper is pretty good, it’s just how you come to play.”

Jasson, a 24-year-old Post University product, did most of his damage after halftime. He scored 24 of his points in the final two quarters.

Jamestown’s Derrick Coulter goes underneath for a layup Friday night.
Photo by Shelly Phillips

“David is David. He’s going to score the ball. Defense is key for him because that’s what’s going to help him get his next job. He should be Sixth Man of the Year and should be All-TBL,” Singleton said. “The biggest thing is trying to get him to realize that he’s fast and athletic. He can guard a lot better than he’s been doing.”

The Jackals led 84-68 entering the fourth quarter, but the Wranglers cut their deficit to as few as seven on a Dalont’e Brown Sr. 3-pointer with 5:07 remaining to cap a 14-0 run. Two possessions later, Jamestown answered when Troy Baker converted a three-point play with 4:18 left to push the lead back up to 10.

“I think it was good, but I really think the other team was frustrated,” Singleton said of Baker’s conversion.

Jasson was then fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three of the free throws. In between Jasson’s second and third attempts, Glass City was whistled for a technical foul and Jamestown’s Derrick Colter knocked down that free throw.

“They were giving us stuff, but we were so busy worrying about trying to make shots,” Singleton said. “They were going to have enough defensive let-ups to let us take back a good lead.”

Jackals newcomer Jeremiah Coston and Jasson followed with buckets as part of a 11-0 run that effectively put the game away. Coston and Gentrell Taylor were added to the roster this week.

Brent Price was the story of the first half. The 25-year-old Wheeling University product scored 22 points in the opening 24 minutes for Jamestown. He cooled off in the second half and finished with 26 points to go along with a team-high nine rebounds on the night.

“He is one of our best players because of his size and what he can do. He can probably guard almost any position on the floor. The biggest thing with him is trying to get him to realize that,” Singleton said of Price. “Sometimes he is very passive. I’m always on him, telling him he can do more.”

Colter added 21 points and four assists, while Coston had 10 points in his debut with the Jackals. Joshua Dominguez, who is averaging 19.1 points per game on the season, is currently away from the team.

“Josh has some family stuff and things that he’s taking care of. It’s tough not having him right now. Hopefully he can get it figured out and get back,” Singleton said. “We needed more size. We had a couple of guys playing out of position. We needed to get some size.”

Jamestown returns to action at 3 p.m. Sunday against the Tri-State Admirals back at the Physical Education Complex. The Admirals (2-10) are coming off a 128-97 loss to second-place Reading on Thursday night.

NOTES: Jasson had seven rebounds, while Baker, Taylor and Coston each had six. … Anthony Carmon led Glass City with 20 points, while Luke Maranka had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Jamestown shot just 41.4% from the field, but knocked down 12 3-pointers.

GLASS CITY (102)

Washington 4-8 4-4 14, Heath 1-7 1-2 3, Gould 0-3 0-2 0, Worthey 4-6 5-9 13, Brown 4-6 1-2 9, Hawkins 2-5 0-0 5, Carmon 5-13 10-13 20, Ollie 4-9 0-0 10, Brown Sr. 3-12 3-6 10, Maranka 5-11 8-13 18. Totals 32-80 32-51 102.

JAMESTOWN (116)

Price 10-21 5-5 26, Kelley 1-5 2-2 4, Colter 6-15 6-7 21, Jasson 8-17 8-8 30, Collier 1-5 2-4 5, Bailey 2-3 0-0 5, Guthre 1-3 2-2 4, Square 0-2 1-4 1, Baker 1-2 4-5 6, Taylor 2-4 0-2 5, Coston 4-10 2-4 10. Totals 36-87 32-43 116.

Glass City 25 22 21 34 — 102

Jamestown 31 23 30 32 — 116

3-point goals–Glass City 6-28 (Washington 2-5, Heath 0-3, Gould 0-1, Brown 0-1, Hawkins 1-4, Carmon 0-3, Ollie 2-4, Brown Sr. 1-6, Maranka 0-1), Jamestown 12-30 (Price 1-5, Kelley 0-3, Colter 3-6, Jasson 6-10, Collier 1-2, Bailey 1-2, Guthre 0-1, Coston 0-1). Total rebounds–Glass City 52 (Maranka 10), Jamestown 58 (Price 9). Assists–Glass City 11 (Carmon 4), Jamestown 11 (Colter 4). Total fouls–Glass City 31, Jamestown 29.