JCA Boys Open Basketball Season With New Look

JOLIET – Freshmen Jalen Jackson and Harold Davis and sophomore Keegan Tyrell made their varsity debuts as starters in the season opener Monday night for the Joliet Catholic boys basketball team.

It’s why Ryan Peter, the Hilltoppers’ senior veteran and last winter’s leading scorer, anticipated the resultant rough stretches vs. Crete-Monee in first-round action of the WJOL Thanksgiving Tournament.

As expected. In both ways.

“It’s a tough game for ‘Petey’ to play in,” Joliet Catholic coach Joe Gura said of Peter, who posted a team-high 17 points and 7 rebounds. “He’s trying to keep it together for two freshmen and a sophomore, so he’s playing with a lot on his shoulders. And I thought he did a really, really nice job.”

Really, the host Hillmen showed improvement from Gura’s first season last year despite the 83-52 loss at the Student Activity Center. The remainder of the tourney will be held at the University of St. Francis.

Besides Peter, senior guard Shakar Washington came off the bench to reach double figures in scoring with 15 points and Jackson added 11. That trio allowed JCA (0-1) to shoot 39.4 percent (13-of-33) from 3-point range, led by Washington at 5-of-7 and Peter at 5-of-10. Jackson checked in at a solid 3-of-9.

“It’s a rough game for two freshmen and a sophomore starting,” Peter said. “It’s a difficult game to open up with, but the good thing is they got a taste of varsity basketball and they’re only going to get better. It wasn’t easy, but I don’t think any team that we play the rest of the season is going to be that athletic.”

Yep, Crete-Monee (1-0) countered with a suffocating half-court trap, stunning speed in transition and the NFL size of Rashad Lee (9 points, 9 rebounds). Mark Conner scored 22 of his game-high 29 points in the first half and Marvie Keith had 16 points, 7 assists and 3 steals before leaving with an ankle injury.

“I think they’re a very good high school basketball team, one of the top teams in the South Suburbs,” Gura said. “For us, the way I look it at, it’s like looking at a legal pad and writing down the plus-minus.

“I was very pleased with how we moved the ball. We never moved the ball or handled the ball as well last year, and even though we had turnovers, we were better handling the ball. We have to get better at defense, even though our initial defense was good. It was stopping the second chances that hurt us.”

The hurt translated into a 43-23 disadvantage on the boards for JCA. Crete-Monee also finished shooting a crisp 50.8 percent (31-of-61) from the floor and 76.2 percent (16-of-21) from the free-throw line.

However, the positives were everywhere for the Hilltoppers. The gritty Tyrell totaled 3 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, Davis had 3 assists and junior forward James Elias had 4 points and 3 rebounds.

“Oh my Lord, I thought Keegan was awesome,” Gura said. “I think everyone (struggled) at the start but then recovered. What we saw tonight was the promise. We saw that we’re better than last year at a lot of things and we saw the growth possibilities for everyone on this team. I was very, very encouraged.”

“We have more ball-handlers,” Peter said. “I don’t know what we would have done without our two freshmen. They’re going to be really good players. Boxing out and free throws are two of the biggest things we’ll be working on in practice, but if we play our game and get our shots, we’ll be successful.”

NOTES: JCA plays Plainfield Central at USF’s Rec Center on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. The third-round game is Friday at 5 p.m. and Saturday’s gametime is to be determined … A 3-pointer by Jackson, a fastbreak layup by Tyrell on a feed from senior guard James Ragen and Ragen’s baseline jumper on a pass from Davis sliced the Hillmen deficit to 11-7 with 5:05 left in the first quarter. Crete-Monee responded with a 15-0 run over the next 4:23 for a 26-7 lead. Peter’s 3-ball closed the quarter … JCA trailed 49-24 at halftime and 72-31 entering the fourth … The Hilltoppers committed 12 of their 16 turnovers in the first half … JCA ended up with 17 assists … Senior guard Keith Craig, a defensive back who chalked up his fourth interception in Saturday’s state football semifinals, did not suit up
for JCA. According to Gura, Crete-Monee was missing two starters who are with
its Class 6A state qualifier.