Boys Basketball: James Logan Claims Consolation Championship

James Logan 52, Washington 46

The Star: Logan's Larry Jones, who scored a game-high 16 points.

The Turning Point: The third quarter when Logan went to a man defense.

The Quote: "I knew they couldn't handle the pressure if we put a hand in their face," Jones said.

What's next? Logan plays Serra in the first round of the Chris Vonture Classic at De La Salle on Thursday at 8 p.m.

Bottom Line: Logan was more athletic at every position and that proved to be the difference on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floot.

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Larry Jones isn't your typical boys basketball player. The 5-foot-8, 130-pound point guard has basketball on his mind all the time. It's been that way since he first started dribbling a basketball.

"I've been playing basketball since I could walk and I'm always thinking about it," Jones said.

His basketball IQ is high enough that even his coach, Chris Fortenberry, has complete trust in him.

In the consolation championship of the Rob Vares Jr. Memorial Classic against host Washington, Jones noticed that if Logan switched from a zone defense to a man, it would make all the difference.

And it did.

Logan turned a slim 21-19 halftime lead into a 46-32 win over the Huskies Saturday night.

"Larry said, man (defense) and pressure at halftime," Fortenberry said.

It worked so well that the Colts held Washington to a mere six points in the third quarter and seven in the fourth.

"I scouted them yesterday against Pittsburg and I knew they couldn't handle the pressure if we put a hand in their face," Jones said. "They are not a good dribbling team."

Jones, who was named to the all-tournament team, scored a game-high 16 points. Teammate Clarence Kay added 13 and Dikoma Mundeke poured in 10 and hit a pair of 3-pointers.

It took Logan a little time to get going on offense in the second half. It scored just seven points in the third yet had a lead at 29-25 by the end of the quarter.

In the fourth, things got going offensively for the Colts (2-1). They went on a 9-2 run that was capped by an ally-oop from Jones to Kaye that gave the Colts a 38-29 lead with 2:55 left in the game.

They put the game out of reach when Mundeke hit a 3-pointer that gave the Colts a commanding 44-30 lead with less than two minutes left.

The Colts went 2-1 in the tournament and are back in action next week when it plays Serra in the first round of the Chris Vonture Classic at De La Salle.

"It was alright," Jones said of the three-day, eight-team tournament at Washington. "I was disappointed we lost to Servite (in the first round), but we executed well the last two games."

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James Logan 46, Washington 32

Logan (2-1)              13 9 7 17 – 46

Washington (1-2)   14 5 6 7 – 32

INDIVIDUALS
Logan (fg ftm-fta tp) — Jones 6 4-5 16, Gates 0 1-2 1, Murphy 1 0-1 2, Kaye 6 1-2 13, Mundeke 4 0-0 10, Rosales 1 2-4 4. Totals 18 8-14 46.
Washington — Cuevas 2 0-0 4, Jennings 2 1-2 5, Austria 2 0-0 4, Ferber 2 0-0 4, Songponnapachon 3 1-6 7, Chu-Hall 4 0-0 8. Totals 15 2-8 32.

3-point goals: Logan 2 (Mundeke 2). Washington 0. Fouled out: None.