Boys Basketball
SAC Basketball Spotlight: Carroll Boys Get Last Second Win, Girls Win the Conference
Boys Basketball
Outside of Fort Wayne’s big three (Caleb Furst, Luke Goode, Fletcher Loyer), who would you say is the best player in the area? There’s plenty of talent to choose from and lots of discussion to be had with that question, but last night may have given us a clear answer: Jalen Jackson. The Carroll junior put the team on his back last night by grinding out 35 hard-earned points, most in the paint. But despite the performance by Jackson, this game was not dominated by Carroll.
The Chargers trailed for most of the first half and all of the second half until the final seconds. Snider was able to get out to a 12 point lead at halftime with their tremendous three point shooting, led by guys like Aidan Lambert, who led the team with 18 points, and Elijah Brown with 13. Jade Moore and Grant Brown also each had 9 points, cashing in from behind the line. A lot of this was thanks to great ball movement, namely by Karson Jenkins who dished out 10 assists allowing for the Panthers to get lots of open looks.
However, getting open is only part of the equation with three pointers, you also have to make the shot. Snider was hot for what felt like the entire first half, but their shooting started to wane in the second. As we know, basketball is a game of runs and momentum, and there was definitely a shift as the game got closer to crunch time. Jalen Jackson began to go to work around the basket. While he scored 8 points in the first half, Jackson was able to get the other 27 after the break.
“The thing with our team is we just stay the course,” Jackson said. “It happened against Dwegner, we were down at halftime and we stayed the course. They hit some big shots, some big threes, but we stayed locked in for the last 16 minutes and got the win.”
Jackson’s 35 points were a career high and easily led the game. However, it would mean very little if the Chargers couldn’t pull out the win. Tied 63-63 with a minute to go, Carroll possessed the ball the whole time and used their timeouts to their advantage to get the best play possible. And of course that play would include number 11.
“We’re known for executing our sets,” Jackson said. “And the way we came out, stayed focused, stayed locked in.”
With just seconds remaining the ball was in Jackson’s hands and he executed right under the net, hitting the game-winner with a second to spare.
“It was just special to execute the last play and to hit the last shot.”
This win carries a lot of weight for Carroll. They are now firmly in second place behind Homestead. The Chargers and Spartans are also now the only two teams in the conference with winning records. They still won’t play for a few more weeks, but that game is already starting to look like it could be a de facto conference championship game.
In the meantime, the Chargers will look to stay unbeaten in conference play with tricky games against North Side and Northrop upcoming. Snider will play at Bishop Dwenger next.
Scores:
Carroll 65 Snider 63
Homestead 83 Northrop 53
Bishop Dwenger 43 South Side 54
Concordia 62 North Side 73
Bishop Luers 63 Wayne 66
Updated Standings (Conference Record, Overall Record):
- Homestead (6-0, 17-0)
- Carroll (6-0, 11-2)
- Bishop Dwenger (3-3, 6-6)
- Snider (3-3, 7-7)
- North Side (3-3, 7-8)
- South Side (3-3, 5-7)
- Northrop (2-3, 4-6)
- Concordia (2-4, 6-8)
- Wayne (1-5, 5-11)
- Bishop Luers (0-5, 4-8)
Key Upcoming Games:
(1/30) Peru at Homestead, 7:30 pm
(2/2) Snider at Bishop Dwenger, 7:30 pm
(2/4) Carroll at Huntington North, 7:30 pm
(2/4) Blackhawk Christian at South Side, 7:30 pm
(2/4) Bishop Dwenger at New Haven, 7:30 pm
Girls Basketball
To add to an already big night for Carroll, the Lady Chargers were able to beat Snider in a close game and have won the SAC. They were led by Saniya Jackson who scored 26 points and Emily Parrett with 15, helping Carroll to reach their 20th win of the year and increase their streak to 17 games. As the tournament begins, Carroll is looking to make a deep run in 4A. They will get a bye before taking the floor on Friday, while Snider will play right after.
Scores:
Carroll 79 Snider 75
Bishop Dwenger 48 South Side 63
Homestead 60 Northrop 41
Concordia 55 North Side 28
Bishop Luers 58 Wayne 43
Updated Standings (Conference Record, Overall Record):
- Carroll (8-0, 20-2)
- Homestead (7-2, 16-5)
- South Side (7-2, 11-5)
- Concordia (6-3, 15-7)
- Snider (6-3, 12-7)
- Bishop Dwenger (4-5, 6-17)
- Bishop Luers (3-6, 9-11)
- Northrop (2-7, 8-11)
- Wayne (1-7, 7-12)
- North Side (0-9, 1-20)
Tournament Schedule:
2/2
(4A) North Side vs. East Noble 6 pm (Snider)
(4A) Northrop vs. DeKalb 7:30 pm (Snider)
(4A) Wayne vs. Homestead 6 pm (Columbia City)
(3A) Angola vs. Concordia 7:30 pm (Garrett)
2/3
(3A) Norwell vs. Bishop Luers 7:30 pm (Norwell)
2/4
(4A) Carroll vs. Game 1 Winner 6 pm (Snider)
(4A) Snider vs. Game 2 Winner 7:30 pm (Snider)
(4A) South Side vs. Game 2 Winner 7:30 pm (Columbia City)
(3A) Bishop Dwenger vs. Game 2 Winner 7:30 pm (Garrett)
