James Clemens ready for a rematch
Alphonso Johnson leads James Clemens against Bob Jones Friday night
As the James Clemens Jets put the finishing touches on a 66-56 win over Russellville Tuesday night, their head coach Luther Tiggs told the players they could start talking about the rematch with Bob Jones.
The Jets are on a three game winning streak and are 13-9 overall and 3-1 in Area 16 play. But those numbers don’t matter this week because Friday night is the rematch with cross-town rival Bob Jones.
Back on December 7 Bob Jones won 56-47 on the Jets home floor. In the Times Classic on December 28, the teams met in the loser’s bracket and Bob Jones claimed a 44-43 disputed victory to stoke the fires even more.
Now is the time for payback according to James Clemens players.
“It’s a big rivalry game, tempers are high and we need this game,” said Jets leading scorer Alphonso Johnson. “It’s going to be a hard fought game but I think we can get a win.”
Johnson is a senior who went to Lee High School last year. His father, former NBA-great Buck Johnson, has been assisting Head Coach Luther Tiggs this season.
Against Russellville, Johnson staked the Jets to an early lead with eleven first half points. In the second half, point guard Josh Mitchell took over and finished with a game-high 17 points.
At 6-foot-4, Johnson dominated the paint with 18 points last time out against Bob Jones.
“We just have to execute at the end and not let turnovers and missed shots kill us. We need the same effort Friday that we had tonight,” he said.
Johnson said that he will attend prep school in Connecticut next year and get another year of basketball under his belt before signing to play in college.
So far this year Johnson has been getting help from Tykeem Franklin who had 17 against Bob Jones.
Franklin hit two 3-point shots in the third quarter against Russellville to give the Jets their biggest lead at 54-41. For Jets forward Jordan Harris it will be like going home, he played on the Bob Jones varsity last year.
Home wins against area teams Florence and Decatur and a huge 55-51 road win at Austin on January 8 have put the Jets in position to make a run at finishing first in Area 16.
They have area games remaining at Decatur and home against Austin.
