It was a game that should have been much closer, and probably would have been if it were played later in the season.
But when the Westchester Comets got hot, the Jordan Panthers fumbled opportunities away and let the game get out of hand in a 69-49 loss at the Tournament of Champions at Ocean View High last night.
“I’d love to play them again later in the season, because we’re not a bad team,” said Jordan coach Ron Massey after the game. “Weve got some good guards, we just went into a shell and couldn’t get out of it.”
Jordan trailed by just three at the half, 29-26, and even scored the first six points of the second half. But perennial power Westchester soon took a seven-point lead, and when Jordan called a timeout to stop the bleeding, the Comets didn’t let up. Back-to-back-to-back turnovers led to Westchester buckets, and by the end of the third quarter the Panthers trailed by 22.
“Weve got a lot to learn from this one,” coach Massey said. “Good guardplay, taking care of the ball, all of the things we did well against Harvard-Westlake, we couldn’t do tonight.”
Westchester’s Dominique O’Connor led the game with 26 points, while Jordan’s Stephan Heard led the Panthers with 11 and five boards.
In an afternoon contest, Long Beach Poly survived with a 63-61 overtime victory over Peninsula behind 15 from senior guard Alex Carmon. The Jackrabbits built an early lead and withstood an onslaught by Peninsula guard Reese Morgan, who almost single-handedly forced overtime but couldn’t score the victory.
The Jackrabbits advance to a difficult game against home team Ocean View, tonight at 6:30pm.
Stephan Heard played strong down low.
Panther guard Bernard Taylor is undoubtedly fast and has the tools to succeed in the Moore League, but will need to cut down on turnovers.
Panther Will Ervin has the size and skills to impress at two-guard – contributing nine points and four rebounds – and he’ll need to be more visible when Jordan needs to come from behind.
Much of this sloppy game was spent on the floor