WO-S holds off Jasper to force six-way tie
By GEORGIA PURDY

JASPER'S KEITH GRAHAM drives around West Orange-Stark's Richard Netherly during last Friday's contest. The Mustangs rallied past Jasper in the fourth quarter for a 62-51 victory.

As the third quarter buzzer sounded, Roman Land's 50-foot shot arced expertly toward the basket, clearing the net without even a bump on the rim. The crowd went wild even though the shot didn't count. Jasper was leading West Orange-Stark by five points.

At game's end, West Orange prevailed 62-51, but that didn't damper fan enthusiasm because the 'Dogs had given the stateranked Mustangs a rough time.

"The fan support was great Friday night," coach Terry Young said. "The fans have stuck with us even though we struggled earlier in the season."

Down 23-14 at the end of the first quarter with the Mustangs picking off most of the rebounds, the Bulldogs came back in the second. Jasper picked up their defensive effort and scored 16 points to West Orange's 10, to finish down 33-29 at the half.

"We did so many good things that we are disappointed that it didn't translate into a victory," Young said. "The guys did a great job of execution on our press break and short passes. They were able to get West Orange out of their fast break and running game."

JASPER'S AARON GARRETT battles with a pair of West Orange-Stark players for a loose ball during last Friday's District 21-3A contest. WO-S rallied for the win and tossed the district into a six-way tie for first place with 2-1 records.

The Bulldogs came back even more aggressive in the third period. They picked up 16 points and held the Mustangs to only seven. The quarter ended with Jasper ahead 45-40.

The fourth quarter was a scramble to control the ball, and while Jasper kept up their defensive pressure, they ran into a wall offensively. The ball did not fall. It wasn't a matter of bad shots. They were open, but repeated attempts just didn't clear the basket and the Bulldogs were held to only six points in the final quarter.

"The shots just didn't fall," Young said. "We took more shots from the outside and I think we should have attacked the basket more. There were a lot of blanks in that quarter."

Roman Land led the scoring with 14 points, followed by Dominique Bailey, 11; and Aaron Garrett, 10.

JASPER'S MALCOLM BRONSON soars into the lane for a bucket during last Friday's junior varsity contest with West Orange-Stark. Bronson led Jasper to a 59- 44 victory.

Land also led with 12 rebounds, 10 defensive and two offensive. In addition, he had two blocks, two deflections and one steal.

Bailey had three defensive and four offensive rebounds, three assists, three deflections, and one dive to the floor.

Garrett had four offensive rebounds, one defensive, two assists, four deflections, one steal, and one dive to the floor.

Keith Graham scored six points with three rebounds, one assist, one deflection, and one charge drawn. Desmond Smith had seven points, two rebounds, one steal and one charge drawn.

"I think the kids played really well. They were very physical. For example, Keith Graham and Desmond Smith were real aggressive and that set the tone. Dominique Bailey did an outstanding job handling the pressure. We kept West Orange from scoring threes and from their running game. We had 12 turnovers which is good for that kind of game.

"The fans have stuck with us even though we struggled earlier in the season." - Jasper head basketball coach Terry Young

"One thing that was really impressive was that the guys were so positive and they stayed that way even though we were down in the first quarter. Also, the senior leadership was outstanding."

Junior varsity won 59-44 over WO-S. Malcolm Bronson scored 24 points, followed by Michael Brewer, 12 and John Sells, 10.

"JV is really strong," Young said. "This was an impressive win. Coach Little and Coach Jackson have done an excellent job. We are all proud of this team. In fact, with the whole program, we know we are moving in the right direction."

Jasper is now 2-1 in the district standings and in a six-way tie for first place. State-ranked Hardin- Jefferson lost to Silsbee Friday night. West Orange- Stark dropped an earlier loss to Hardin-Jefferson. That put those teams plus Kirbyville and Orangefield at 2-1 as of Friday night.

"It's going to be interesting from here on out," Young said.

Jasper's two district wins were against Bridge City (72-37) and Hamshire- Fannett, (86-59).

Roderick Kyles scored 15 points against Bridge City, followed by Graham, 13; Bailey, 11; Danterio Anderson, nine; and Desmond Smith, eight.

Bailey scored 20 points against Hamshire-Fannett, with five steals, six deflections, three defensive rebounds, one loose ball recovery, and one dive to the floor.

Also in double digits were Kwame Spikes, 14; Smith, 13; Land, 11; and Kyles, 10.

Land had six defensive and two offensive rebounds, two blocks, two assists, two steals, six deflections, and one charge drawn. DJ Jackson had 10 rebounds, seven defensive and three offensive.

Jasper played Hardin Jefferson last night on the road and will be at home against Silsbee Friday night. The freshman game begins at 5 p.m. with JV and varsity to follow.