BOYS BASKETBALL

Jackson Christian escapes with win over TCA

Jeff Clark
sports@jacksonsun.com

Tied at 44 with 1:33 left in the game, Connor Richardson's two free throws put Jackson Christian up by two.

Riley Ragan's basket plus a free throw added three for the Eagles to escape with a 50-45 win over Trinity Christian Academy, ending an eleven-game Jackson Christian losing streak to their Jackson and District 15-A rivals.

“We wanted to get that monkey off our back given that they are a rival team,” said Jackson Christian coach J.D. Byrd about the win. “It was kind of an ugly game. It was messy with a lot of missed shots and turnovers.

"It wasn't a pretty game, but we did what we had to do get the win.”

TCA jumped out quick for a 7-0 lead, but the Eagles took over in the second quarter for 24-19 halftime lead.

Clark Larson, who had 19 points to lead all scorers, tossed in nine third quarter points to push the Lions back up 38-36 going into the final quarter.

But several key turnovers by TCA's young guards aided the Eagles, who outscored the Lions 14-7 in the final quarter and pulled away with the victory.

Post players Richardson and Garrett Hopkins led the Eagles with 15 and 12 points each as the Eagles focused on getting the ball inside against the Lions. Jeremy Stewart added 10, including two clutch buckets in the last-quarter rally for the Eagles (11-8, 4-1), who are now in second place in the district.

“They stepped up for us tonight because we felt like we had to take the ball inside tonight,” explained Byrd about Richardson and Hopkins. “They are starting to play really well together.

“I wasn't playing them together at the first of the year but they seem to have really developed a lot of chemistry together as the season's gone. They were big for us tonight when some of our guys who normally score didn't.”

“We had some plays down the stretch where we didn't handle it the way we want to handle it,” said TCA coach Ken Northcut about the final minutes. “Our young guards had some turnovers, and we panicked when the game got close at the end.

“Our guys played hard and we played better than what we have been playing, but we are a young team trying to get ready for February and the tournaments right now.”

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