Boys basketball defeats Lansing High School
The Jaguars win against Lansing Lions 53-41.
January 29, 2017
The first quarter ended in a low score, with the Jaguars leading 5-2. Head coach Michael Bennett attributes the slow start to both teams playing good defense, and the new identity of their offense.
“[As a team] we’re still trying to figure out how we want to score and how to have balance,” Bennett said.
During the next quarter, senior shooting guard Jack Cooper came off the bench and scored seven of the Jaguars’ 13 points of the second quarter, which allowed the Jaguars to take an 18-11 lead at halftime. Cooper’s seven straight points motivated the student section to began a chant of his name, and energy increased within the team.
“The first quarter we didn’t score much so when I came in the second quarter I had the mindset to score for my teammates,” Cooper said. “We also had [Make-A-Wish kid] Calin [Strahm] there and I wanted to work as hard as I could for him.”
Bennett believes Cooper impacted the game for the better.
“I think he had a great impact, he really got us going. He lifted the spirit of our bench up and [the spirit of] the fans,” Bennett said. “His energy fueled what we were trying to do.”
The Jaguars carried the energy into the third quarter, where sophomore point guard Tanner Moore hit two three-pointers. These two three-pointers helped the Jaguar’s maintain their seven point lead, ending the quarter with a score of 30-27.
In the fourth quarter, sophomore point guard Logan Talley scored nine of his 10 total points. This allowed the Jaguars to increase their lead, and eventually have a final score of 53-41.
This was the first game the Jaguars played without junior point guard Cooper Kaifes, who is out for the remainder of the season due to a foot injury. Bennett believes the team will continue to work hard and find other ways to score.
“We’re all going to have to pull together and be more of a unit and a team,” Bennett said. “They’re not looking to hang their head because they lost somebody, we’re just going to have to be that much stronger.”
The team’s next game will be at home against Saint James Academy on Friday, Feb. 3.
