Andy Close
WARREN, Pa. – It’s been an interesting season for the Jamestown Jackals, but also one that just continues to get better and better.
On Friday night at Warren Area High School, the Jackals beat Carolina 131-114 in Game 2 of their best-of-three Eastern Conference Semifinal series in The Basketball League to sweep the series.
It’s a journey that has taken them away from their home in Jamestown to Erie, and most recently, Warren.
“We’ve found a way,” Jackals’ owner Kayla Crosby said. “We’ve played well. We have an awesome team and a great group of guys with some pretty extravagant resumes, guys that have played overseas.
“It’s been difficult because of COVID, so there have been some things that we had to do a little bit differently, but yeah, it’s been great. It’s been a really good thing and we’re excited to keep going in the playoffs.”
As for the game against Carolina, the Jackals broke open what was a close contest, pulling way to take an 80-60 lead in the third quarter, leading by double-digits the rest of the way. The Jackals hit five 3-pointers in that third quarter to take control.
Jamestown (18-6) poured it on in the fourth, scoring 41 points in what turned out to be a runaway.
“Our goal was to win quarters,” said Jamestown coach Brandon Lesovsky. “The first quarter we started out playing well and we let them come back, but we still won the quarter. I didn’t feel like we were playing great, but when we really got going in the third quarter, we were up 20.
“In a short series like this, you want to finish them off. You never want to let them get confidence. You want to get it over with and on to the next one as quickly as possible.
Dane Miller had a monster game, nearly notching a triple-double with 27 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists.
Seven Jackals scored in double figures, including Jon Lee with 20 points, Freddie McSwain with 17 and Christian Nobles another near triple-double with 15 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.
“We really enjoyed it tonight,” Lee said. “We had fun out there and I think that’s the most important thing for us, especially going into the playoffs. We’re playing really good basketball. Everybody got in, everybody played hard.
“Only the best teams make it to the playoffs. You can’t take any games off. In the playoffs every team is good. You can’t sleep on anybody.”
Anthony Moe, Glenroy Carr, and Bernard Edwards had 13 points teach for Jamestown, which will now play rival Syracuse in the ‘Elite 8’ of TBL.
Eric Eaves had 25 points to lead Carolina and Deshaw Andrews 24.
Game 1 will be hosted by Jamestown, while Games 2 and 3 (if necessary) will be in Syracuse. And there’s a good chance the Jackals will be back in Warren.
“We’ve had great support in Warren,” Crosby said.
And in Syracuse (23-4), they’ll be facing a familiar foe, one they’ve played eight times during the regular season.
“We’re confident in our abilities,” Lee said. “We’re really excited. We got some teammates back and got some momentum, so we’re looking forward to it being a great series.”
