JACKSONVILLE — Everything up to this point has just been a warmup for the Jacksonville basketball team. Now, the real work begins.
The Golden Eagles, as expected, won the Class 4A Area 10 Championship Saturday 95-69 over Etowah that was their final speed bump on what now becomes a five-game road to glory that won’t be nearly as easy to navigate as the last three months.
From now on the next loss and they’re done. And nobody has to tell them.
It starts Tuesday night with a subregion matchup with Anniston, the defending 4A state champions, and could include a regional showdown with current No. 1 Westminster Christian.
“It’s win or go home,” Golden Eagles coach Shane Morrow said. “I told the guys this is where the fun is. This is where it gets exciting. This is what you play for. This is what people talk about whether it’s at this school or any other school.
“We’re excited. We’re just going to let loose and play and have fun.”
Well, they can’t get too loose. They didn’t come out with the effort Morrow would have liked Saturday and rode the yo-yo of building a lead, having Etowah come back (but never overtake them) and build it back out again.
It was a classic rinse and repeat until they finally put the Blue Devils away with a 16-2 run midway through the third quarter.
And while, as tournament MVP John Broom suggested, it may have been what the Golden Eagles needed to keep their focus in this one, the slightest let-up could spell disaster in the gauntlet that’s ahead.
“It’s going to be very intense (going forward),” Caden Johnson said. “We can’t take plays off. We have to go in and go straight hard. If we lose, we’re out, so you’ve got to play your hardest.”
Then the fun really began. They stretched the lead with behind-the-back passes and dunks and rainbow 3s until the starters finally retired with 2:28 to go and a 91-63 lead.
Broom and Johnson got the Golden Eagles going Saturday, combining for 20 of their first 25 points.
Broom finished with 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals. Johnson had 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting, four assists and three steals.
Cam Johnson had 11 points and seven rebounds. Cade Phillips doubled his minutes from Thursday’s return from a foot injury that sidelined him since Jan. 15 (the day after the first Anniston meeting) and he had nine points, six rebounds and three blocked shots.
All four made the all-tournament team. For the two tournament games Broom had 47 points on 17-of-25 shooting, 14 rebounds, nine assists and four steals.
“Now it’s win or go home,” Broom said. “We’ve got to take smarter shots and lock in on defense, rebound and no more leaking out and stuff. We’re just going to keep playing our game and keep playing the best we can.
“Things definitely get more serious, even at practice. If we all lock in on defense, take more charges, and lay down on the fouls we should be fine.”
CLASS 4A AREA 10
Boys Championship Game
Jacksonville 95, Etowah 69
ETOWAH – Jalien Walker 8-13 6-9 23, Deginal Spears 7-16 0-0 18, Steven Jones 6-12 3-4 17, Josh Graham 1-6 1-2 4, Christopher Gooden 1-1 0-0 3, Omareon Finch 1-3 0-3 2, Caden Argo 1-3 0-0 2, Monte Boyd 0-0 0-0 0, Dillon Horton 0-0 0-0 0, Jameson Scissum 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-56 10-18 69.
JACKSONVILLE – John Broom 12-18 7-8 32, Caden Johnson 9-13 0-0 21, Camren Johnson 5-10 0-0 11, Cade Phillips 4-12 1-2 9, Quin Long 3-6 2-2 9, Devin Barksdale 2-2 0-0 6, JaeTaj Morris 1-1 0-0 3, JaLeik Long 1-4 0-0 2, Ethan Duke 1-1 0-0 2, Jacoby Zackery 0-1 0-0 0, Kydric Fisher 0-0 0-0 0, Julian Hill 0-0 0-0 0, Hayden Robinson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 38-68 10-12 95.
Etowah 19 15 20 15 – 69
Jacksonville 27 19 24 25 – 95
3-point goals: Etowah 9-18 (Walker 1-2, Spears 4-7, Jones 2-4, Graham 1-2, Gooden 1-1, Argo 0-1, Scissum 0-1); Jacksonville 9-21 (Broom 1-3, Cd. Johnson 3-4, Cm. Johnson 1-5, Phillips 0-2, Q. Long 1-2, Barksdale 2-2, Morris 1-1, J. Long 0-1, Zackery 0-1). Rebounds: Etowah 39 (Walker 7, Finch 7); Jacksonville 38 (Broom 9, Cm. Johnson 7, Phillips 6, Cd. Johnson 5). Total fouls: Etowah 11, Jacksonville 12. Officials: Warren, Batey, Mariman. [*** read more]
