Jefferson at Lincoln: Five Takeaways
It wasn’t as dominant as it might have been, but Jefferson beat Lincoln 63-56 on Saturday night to stay perfect against Oregon’s opponents. The Democrats improved to 15-3 overall and 9-0 in the PIL; Lincoln fell to 10-7 (4-5 in league). Here’s what stood out:
Less-heralded leaders
It was an admirable showing from Lincoln as they clawed back to get within four points midway through the fourth quarter against the best team in Oregon. Playing without star Bryce Sloan, who left the game in the third quarter with a hip pointer, Lincoln was powered by the remainder of their experienced starters. Seniors Rasheed Butler and Aidan Anastas scored 15 points each. Butler hit four threes and Anastas played big down low in scoring and fighting for rebounds.
Off night
The most highly-recruited player in the state, Kamaka Hepa, did not play his most outstanding game. He scored 12 points, but shot just 5 of 13 from the field, including a missed dunk. Even still, he was impressive as he racked up rebounds on both sides of the floor, blocked and altered shots. “I didn’t think I played too well,” Hepa said. “Obviously, we barely won. They’re a good team, but I think we could’ve done a lot better on the offensive end. We kind of played a little selfish and not together and that’s something we really need to work on if we want to beat some of the better teams in the state.”
It wasn’t Kamaka Hepa’s best game, but here’s the 6-foot-10 forward hitting a nifty jumper last night (on his birthday). #opreps pic.twitter.com/5En9VsJVcr
— Hayes Gardner (@HayesGardner) January 28, 2018
Class of 2019’s prize
Marcus Tsohonis, the top in-state player in the class of 2019, was as good as usual. He finished with 17 points, scoring from the free throw line, on baseline jumpers and in the paint. He also showed off his length in playing terrific defense and rebounding. Here here is with an athletic block on the biggest possession of the game:
One more video from last night: Lincoln had the ball, trailing by 4 with 4 to play when Jefferson’s Marcus Tsohonis and Kamaka Hepa made key blocks on back-to-back possessions. #opreps pic.twitter.com/9MBUiC0cWt
— Hayes Gardner (@HayesGardner) January 29, 2018
Stingy defense
Jefferson was not pleased with their defense, but they’re such an athletic bunch that they were still able to create a number of turnovers. They full-court pressed for much of the contest and were able to interrupt dribbling and deflect passes to keep Lincoln uncomfortable. The Cardinals finished with nine first half turnovers. Senior guard Robert Ford–who had 8 first quarter points–was a particularly infuriating defender for Lincoln to deal with.
Three dunks
Hepa finished 1 of 2 on his dunk attempts, but Jefferson senior Khalil Chatman had three slams himself, including one that capped a quick 8-0 run in the fourth quarter to seal the game for Jefferson. He finished with 14 points. Chatman has been a welcomed addition to Jefferson this season. The 6-foot-8 senior forward, who is the younger brother of former Michigan and current Detroit Mercy player Kameron Chatman, was an all-PIL honoree at Franklin last year before transferring to Jefferson. The younger Chatman, who has offers from the Division I likes of Montana State and Detroit Mercy, said this year has been different than his junior season. “At Franklin, everything was centered around me. Coming to Jefferson, I have a number of players who can do different things, so just fitting in, not trying to do too much. Rebound, play defense, do the little things,” he said. “We have a lot of key players and I just try to come in and do everything that they’re not doing.”
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