Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
CHILLICOTHE — You never know when redemption might come.
It happened to knock at Stephen Jenkins’ doorstep on Friday and he had no issues opening it, taking advantage of a second chance.
The junior guard was 1-for-8 from the free throw line in Jackson’s double overtime loss to Wheelersburg on Tuesday. But he was cold-blooded when it counted the most in his next outing.
In a tie game with 8.7 seconds left, he got fouled and calmly buried two clutch free throws to put his Ironmen (9-3, 4-1 FAC) ahead, eventually allowing them to earn a tough-nosed 54-52 victory at Chillicothe in FAC action.
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
“He had a tough game on Tuesday, and he’ll be the first to admit it. It surely wasn’t his fault we lost, there were a plethora of problems we had in that loss,” Jackson coach Max Morrow said. “It’s such a huge confidence boost to step to the line with less than 10 seconds left and hit two free throws. He’s a great player who doesn’t seem to get rattled no matter what the situation is.”
Jenkins’ fingerprints were all over the game, especially in the second half. However, the first quarter belonged to the Cavaliers.
Out of the gates, Cooper Stoneking buried a pair of 3’s while Cam Badger and Juan Miller poured on points inside, taking an early 10-3 lead. Caydon Cox later buried a triple at the buzzer, giving the Cavs (4-7, 2-2 FAC) a 17-9 lead after the first.
Jackson committed six turnovers in the opening frame, but its fortune changed in the second. Chillicothe’s offense drastically cooled off, while Jenkins began to slowly heat up.
He continued to attack inside, alongside Ryan Seimetz, as the Ironmen cut the lead to 21-16. As the quarter came to a close, Chillicothe had lost all momentum and Jenkins made sure of it, swishing a 3 to beat the buzzer and tie the game at 25-25 at halftime.
“They were the better team in the first quarter, but we showed a lot of toughness to battle back after committing a bunch of turnovers,” Morrow said. “Little by little, we climbed back with Bodhi [Wolford] scoring inside a couple times and getting a steal to turn into points. That 3 from Stephen was huge and gave us momentum. We told the guys that we made it through 16 minutes, now it’s our time for the next 16 minutes.”
PHOTOS: Images from Jackson’s win over Chillicothe
Jackson took its first lead after the break by splitting a pair of free throws, followed by buckets from Jenkins and Bodhi Wolford that made up a half-opening 7-1 run for a 32-26 lead.
The Ironmen’ defense took center stage in the third, forcing five turnovers and converting them into points on the other end. They held Chillicothe to zero field goals and only seven free throws to take a 41-32 lead into the fourth.
The turnovers continued to mount for the Cavaliers, allowing the Ironmen to keep them at an arm’s distance, maintaining a nine-point lead all the way to 50-41.
“We had to adjust to their game speed. Every team is different and they’re a very athletic team, so we couldn’t let them get by us for easy looks at the rim,” Morrow said. “They hurt us in the first quarter with their shooting and rebounding in the first half, and we adjusted to close out better on the perimeter and kept them in front of us to crash the boards better.”
However, the Cavaliers weren’t going away that easily.
Cartae Ligon scored and assisted on the next seven Cavalier points, followed by a bucket each from Miller and Cox as part of a huge 13-2 run that tied the game at 52-52 with 35 seconds left.
Jenkins, however, then took matters into his own hands.
He drew a charge to regain possession, got fouled and knocked down two shots at the stripe to take the lead. Although Chillicothe still had a chance to tie or go for the win, Wolford knocked the ball loose into Seimetz’s hands to seal the road victory.
“Aside from the free throws, he doesn’t get that chance without taking that charge to get us the ball back,” Morrow said. “Taking charges are making winning plays and selling out for your team, and that’s special for him to do that in a tie game with less than 20 seconds left. It was a physical game and a lot of guys put their bodies on the line to get the win.”
Jenkins finished with a game-high 21 points and six rebounds, followed by Wolford with 14 points and Seimetz with 10.
For Chillicothe, Miller finished with 15 points, Cox ended with 11 points and 13 rebounds, and Stoneking chipped in 10 points.
Jackson returns to action on Tuesday for a first place showdown at undefeated Miami Trace while Chillicothe aims to bounce back at Hillsboro.
SPONSORED BY HOMELAND CREDIT UNION
