Austin races past James Clemens to claim Area 16 title
JCHS Alphonso Johnson and Austin's Malique Elliot battle for position photo by Floyd Parks
The James Clemens basketball team saved one of their worst performances of the season for the biggest game of the season. With an area title on the line, the first-year Jets hit their season low in points as Austin hammered the Jets 44-31 Friday night at James Clemens gym.
“It was a big game and we failed this test miserably,” said James Clemens head coach Luther Tiggs. “We didn’t play with a sense of urgency. We could not keep them off the backboard and we did not get back on defense.”
James Clemens took a brief lead at 5-3 but it did not last long as five turnovers in the first quarter cost the Jets. A slam dunk by Malique Elliot put Austin up 21-17 and started a 6-0 run in the second quarter.
Elliot’s offensive rebound and basket gave Austin a 29-24 lead going into halftime.
Alphonso Johnson kept James Clemens close with 10 first half points.
In the third quarter, James Clemens only scored two points and Austin had their way in the post. Defensively,Austin’s Josh Pearson blocked a shot that seemed to take away any chance of a comeback as James Clemens could not get anything going on offense.
“We had too much standing around in the second half,” Tiggs said.
Austin increased its lead to 37-26 in the third quarter due to “our inability to manufacture points,” Tiggs said. “The game just got away from us.”
Austin raced out to their biggest lead at 44-30 late in the fourth quarter.
“We let some guys get loose but they have got a good basketball team,” Tiggs said.
James Clemens had no answer for Austin’s big men who were the leading scorers for the Black Bears. Malique Elliot had 14, Josh Pearson and Troy Harris had 9 points each.
“I am proud of our kid’s effort throughout the season especially in area play putting ourselves in position to play for the area title. We still have a lot to play for,” Tiggs said.
James Clemens had beaten Austin 55-51 in a come from behind victory on the road on January 8. The Jets finish at 4-2 in area play and will finish second. The area tournament will be at Austin.
“This is just one loss. I think this team will get right back up and bounce back and we will go back to work,” Tiggs said.
Alphonso Johnson led James Clemens with ten points but he did not score in the second half. Josh Mitchell had eight points.
