USJ boys edge Jackson Christian
Teams that play University School of Jackson don’t need to see a lot of film to realize how important it is to contain senior Clayton Hughes.
The 6-foot-5-inch guard bound for Central Florida is a top asset for the Bruins, who are looking to break a string of early postseason losses. But the quality of play USJ gets from other players will have just as much influence on how far they go in the postseason.
Though Hughes scored a game-high 26 points Saturday, the Bruins also benefited from strong work from teammates like sophomore Brandon Craig in a 67-63 win over visiting Jackson Christian.
Craig scored 19 points and made several nice passes that led to baskets Saturday.
“We’ve just been asking him to step up and be that second player that we need right now,” USJ coach Oliver Simmons said. “Clayton’s obviously our first go-to guy. George Markos is obviously our strong shooter that we feel comfortable with the ball in his hands.
“We’ve just asked Brandon to step up the last few games and be a presence offensively and defensively, and he’s done that.”
Late in the game, Simmons barked at Craig to plan on getting every defensive rebound. But the sophomore helped on offense, too, scoring often inside 12 feet.
“Nobody can guard both me and Clayton, or George ... basically our whole starting five can score. We’re just really hard to stop,” Craig said.
USJ (17-5) led 23-16 early in the second quarter, but passes from Garrett Hopkins to Jeremy Stewart and Garrett Hollenback to Gunnar Lewis led to Jackson Christian baskets.
Logan Riddle’s floater in the lane gave the Eagles (12-9) their only lead, 25-24, but Hughes responded with a 3. Hopkins tied the game at 31 a bit later and USJ led 33-31 at halftime.
Craig asserted himself with seven points in the third quarter, but Jackson Christian’s Riley Ragan hit two free throws and then a difficult floater at the buzzer to cut USJ’s lead to two.
His team ahead 50-47 in the fourth, Markos found Ryan Davis for two and then Hughes scored seven straight points. Stewart and Josh Cole hit late 3s for Jackson Christian but the Eagles needed a little more time.
“We won, in my opinion, an ugly game, but we were able to grind it out,” Simmons said. “We didn’t panic at the end when they made a run and they were pressing us, so I’m pleased.”
Stewart scored 18 points for Jackson Christian, and Hopkins and Ragan had 12 each. Riddle and Hollenback each scored eight.
USJ got nine from Markos and seven from Davis.
“We all know what we can accomplish, that we can win state,” Hughes said. “We’ve just got to put in the work. We’ve just got to make it happen, really.”
Craig Thomas, 425-9634
