Men’s Basketball | Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022 at 1:55 PM
KINGSPORT, Tenn.– The fifth-ranked University of Jamestown men’s basketball team held West Virginia Tech to 25 second-half points and overcame a ten-point deficit in a 73-60 win Saturday afternoon at The Show Holiday Showcase.
Jamestown improves to 6-1 overall while WVU Tech falls to 4-4. UJ is back in action Sunday against No. 15 William Jessup (Calif.) at 10:00 am
The Golden Bears opened an 11-4 lead, hitting on their first three three-point attempts. UJ gradually chipped away at the lead, and after a run of eight straight points by Mason Walters (SR/Jamestown, ND), went ahead 22-18 at the 8:46 mark. WVU Tech continued its hot shooting from the outside, as Bryce Radford made three consecutive threes, including a four-point play. Will Hill added another three for the Golden Bears to close out a 15-4 run that made it 33-26 with 4:37 before halftime. Jamestown held WVU Tech scoreless for the final 3:45 and cut the deficit to 35-31 at the half.
UJ trailed 46-36 just over two minutes into the second half but used an 11-2 run to make it a one-point game with 14:28 to play. Reid Gastner (SO/Lake City, MN) tied the game at 51-51 with a layup, and the Golden Bears responded with a jumper by Radford to retake the lead. Walters made a three-pointer and a layup on back-to-back trips down the floor to give the Jimmies their biggest lead since the 7:27 mark of the first half.
Ashton Parker scored for WVU Tech with ten minutes remaining to cut the UJ lead to one, but it would be another five minutes before the Golden Bears scored again. By that time, the Jimmies had built a nine-point advantage and began to put the game away. Jamestown finished on a 17-5 run over the final ten minutes and forced the Golden Bears into missing nine of their final ten shots.
After relying on Walters (18 points) and Cooper Olson (SO/Champlin, MN) (seven points) in the first half, UJ got 11 points from Kjos and 10 from Will Cordes (JR/Shakopee, MN) in the second. Gastner and Walters both added nine as Jamestown outscored WVU Tech 42-25 over the final 20 minutes. Walters led all players with 27 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and four blocks, with Kjos (14) and Cordes (10) joining him in double figures.
WVU Tech outshot UJ .464 to .400 overall and .500 to .200 on threes in the first half, but the Jimmies reversed their fortunes in the second half, enjoying a .519 to .357 overall shooting advantage and a .375 to . 313 advantage from behind the arc. Jamestown turned the ball over just four times to the Golden Bears’ 20, resulting in a 26-3 edge in points off turnovers. UJ also outscored WVU Tech 36-16 in the paint and 12-10 off the bench.
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