Alexander vs. Douglas County: Overtime Thriller Takeaways
With the Region 5-AAAAAA standings bunched up and the region playoff seeding yet to be determined, Saturday’s bout between rivals Alexander (10-5, 7-2) and Douglas County (10-6, 4-4) proved to be crucial. In front of a nice crowd, Douglas County…
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Continue ReadingWith the Region 5-AAAAAA standings bunched up and the region playoff seeding yet to be determined, Saturday’s bout between rivals Alexander (10-5, 7-2) and Douglas County (10-6, 4-4) proved to be crucial. In front of a nice crowd, Douglas County was unable to protect home floor after a furious comeback. The Lions trailed 35-27 at the half and by four going into the fourth quarter before taking a late lead 71-69 with 14.4 seconds left. Alexander was bailed out by an offensive rebound and foul with 0.3 seconds remaining to allow the Cougars to tie the game up from the foul line and send it into overtime. In overtime, Alexander made just enough stops to pull out an emotional 82-80 win.
Tempers Flare
There’re always some emotions when rivals link up for an important region game. Alexander and Douglas County provided the crowd with fireworks, both of the good (highlight plays) and bad (kerfuffle) kind. At the 42.6 mark of the second quarter with Alexander up 32-26, 2021 6-4 PF Omarion Smith and 2020 6-5 W Marvin McGhee got entangled in a verbal dispute. Smith squared up on McGhee, who seemed to be less of the instigator, but luckily no punches were thrown as the cops had to run out and pull Smith off the floor and ejected both players. It was a huge blow for both teams as McGhee, an unsigned senior with a strong frame, had already cashed in three threes and had 11 points and 5 rebounds at the time of his ejection while Smith, an undersized big man and elite rim protector, had 7 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. I don’t know what was said, but looking at the replay, something made Smith snap and he helped escalate the incident to something much more than it should have been. Both players were playing extremely well and hurt their teams, not only in the present moment, but in the future as they are now suspended for their next two games during an important stretch of the region schedule.
The Rise of Jaylen Jackson
After playing an ancillary role at Westlake, 2021 6-5 W Jaylen Jackson decided to transfer over to Douglas County. When I first saw him this offseason with Team Forrest, everyone including myself kept asking “who is this guy?” The human highlight reel is an absolute pogo-stick with NBA-level bounce. Jackson was unstoppable for the Tigers and carried the load with 30 points and 10 rebounds. Jackson is a freak athlete but he hit a handful of jumpers off the bounce and showed his range out to the three-point line. He will still need to work on his handle and being able to slice into the lane through traffic along with improving his outside shot which is still respectable. Playmaking for others is another area which he can build. He was a terror on the offensive glass and elevated over everybody who tried to jump with him. With still a year left of high school ball, Jackson has an extremely high ceiling. D-I’s have shown interest but only Albany State has offered.
Quiet Assassin
While Jaylen Jackson was making all the highlight plays for Douglas County, it was 2021 6-4 W Xavier Thornton who was consistently steady for Alexander. At the end of the game, Thornton had a cool 19 points and went 5-6 from the line to ice the game in overtime. Thornton doesn’t have the offense run through him, but he is a guy that can get it done at all levels. Though he might not have one particular skill that stands out, Thornton is a jack-of-all-trades that pitches in in various ways. Thornton can get a tough bucket off the dribble getting to the rim, or he can drill the open three. Defensively he is strong enough to frustrate smaller guards. Overall it was a quietly impressive performance stepping up in the absence of McGhee.
Omari Fonteno does damage
2021 6-3 PG Omari Fonteno had an eye-opening performance for Douglas County. The big guard has a smooth feel for the game and made some terrific passes, threading the needle from half court to a big man on the run and another time going behind the back to free up a teammate. Fonteno tallied 19 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals and 1 block. He is Douglas County’s primary ball-handler and shoulders a lot of responsibility. Fonteno is good in the open floor and can diagnose the defense quickly. He and Jackson should be in line for big senior seasons.
The growth of Jaylon Brown
When 2020 6-1 PG Jaylon Brown first arrived at Alexander, he was a reliable ball-handler that focused on running the offense and playing tough on-ball defense. He deferred at times and rightfully so to get his main scoring options involved. Now in his senior season, Brown has been let loose and is averaging a team-best 15.6 points and 5.3 assists. Quick, athletic and long-armed, Brown showed the full package on Saturday finishing with a team-high 20 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. He nailed two threes in the first half and got to the rim in the second. Brown struggled in the fourth quarter however, going 0-3 from the line but redeemed himself in overtime making his first two attempts but missing his second two, but with the game on the line, he came away with a steal with six seconds left to preserve the victory. Brown picked up his first offer from Lander last month and could see some more file in. He’s a good fit for a team that likes to play fast and lets their point guard make decisions on the fly.
Big Red
2020 6-7 C Bryce Robinson has done everything I expected he would do in his senior season at Alexander. The big curly haired red-head is averaging 9.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.9 blocks, stepping into a full-time starting role after playing behind Brady Spence (Citadel). Robinson isn’t as long or as athletic as Spence was, but he is rugged enough to play physical around the basket, using his football background. He has a trustworthy hook in the lane and can knock down the jumper out to 15-feet. He had 14 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 4 blocks in the win over Douglas County. At times he did struggle whenever Jaylen Jackson crashed the boards and missed out on one or two big rebounds late, but overall Robinson was effective when he got the ball down low. I like him at the D-II level if he decides to play basketball instead of tight end in college.