Jones shows out on big stage

Oxford sophomore scores 22, wows crowd with two big dunks, as Jackets advance in County Tournament

By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today

JACKSONVILLE – Oxford wowed the crowd with five 3-pointers in the first quarter, but it took a sophomore to bring the masses to their feet.

Braden Jones, a 6-foot-4 post who has excelled during the Yellow Jackets’ recent resurgence, electrified the crowd with two monster slams in the second half of his team’s 64-44 Calhoun County Tournament win over Faith Christian.

The dunks came on back-to-back possessions early in the fourth quarter. The second one was the most spectacular. He collected the ball at midcourt and there was nothing to stop him between there and the goal. And after watching him dunk on the play before, everyone in the coliseum knew what was coming.

“It was very exciting,” Jones said. “I was just so hyped when I dunked the ball. I don’t get opportunities like that in a game, so I’m proud to make it now. … (Doing it) in front of all the teams we play, I feel very excited.”

Jones finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and six steals. His stock and minutes have increased substantially since Querriun Mason was dismissed from the team in December. He wants to be a factor in the offense.

“Q carried a big part of the team when he was here; he was Oxford basketball when he was here,” Jones said. “I knew as soon as that incident happened I had to step up and be the next man in charge. He was a big part of the team, so all of us have to try to make up for it.

“I see the team counting on me a lot now since the Q incident, so now I’ve got to try to carry the team – me, Kolbie (McClendon), Torry (Robertson), Eugene (Leonard), Jalen (Moore), all of us have to step up now.”

McClendon and Robertson scored 13 each, with McClendon grabbing eight rebounds and Leonard seven. Robertson had four of the Jackets’ nine 3-pointers.

After Jones’ second dunk, the coaches took him out of the game. They called him over to remind him to curb his enthusiasm and act like he’s been there before.

Really, though, he hasn’t. He played freshman basketball a year ago and jumped straight to the varsity this year.

“He’s playing the 5, Zach Lackey is also playing the 5, and I don’t want to say this to hurt Zach’s confidence, (Jones’) talent level has surpassed,” Oxford coach Joel VanMeter said. “You’re talking about a kid last year who played freshman basketball. He comes in this year and goes right to varsity. That kid’s never played a minute in a JV basketball game.

“I knew it was going to take a while. Now, he had a really good summer for us, but Zach Lackey was playing better. The more you get him on the floor the better he gets and he’s learned to practice. He played freshman ball last year and he would make 10 plays in the game all based off nothing but athleticism. Now he’s figured out what he’s doing and he’s pretty good.”

The Yellow Jackets (13-8), who’ve won eight of their last 10 games, now play fourth-seeded Saks Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

“It’s always good to get the first one out of the way and move onto the next one,” VanMeter said.

Oxford 64, Faith Christian 44

FAITH CHRISTIAN — Caleb McCord 4 1-3 10, Jordan Griswould 3 5-6 12, Jameson Adams 2 0-0 4, Jack Sills 4 1-1 9, Jameson Thacker 1 0-0 3, Alex Taylor 2 0-0 6, Julien Key 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 7-10 44

OXFORD – Torry Robertson 4 1-2 13, Jalen Moore 1 0-0 2, Jakolbie McClendon 6 0-1 13, Jacob Baker 1 0-0 3, Eugene Leonard 3 0-0 9, Andrew Pratt 0 0-0 0, Braden Jones 9 4-6 22, Zach Lackey 0 2-2 2. Totals 24 7-11 64.

Faith 9 13 10 12 — 44
Oxford 20 9 20 15 — 64

3-point goals: Faith 5 (McCord, Griswould, Thacker, Taylor 2); Oxford 9 (Robertson 4, McClendon, Baker, Leonard 3). Fouled out: McCord. Total fouls: Faith 15, Oxford 13.

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