JJKN Hoops Wins 7th Grade Championship
In front of a large and boisterous crowd, JJKN Hoops defeated Vassar 52-45 to claim the 2011 7th Grade Spring Championship. With former Duke standout Christian Laettner in the house, both teams came out firing on all cylinders. That left a great opening impression on Laettner, who is town to run clinics and speak at the JJKN Hoops March Madness Fundraiser on Saturday night.
“I was impressed with how quickly these teams moved the ball up the court and got after it. My thought was these teams are being coached up the right way,” stated Laettner.
Both teams jockeyed for position in the first half with neither grabbing larger than a five point lead. The first half ended deadlocked at 31. Colton Fabbro and Lamont Morrison each netted eight in the first half to lead Vassar while JJKN Hoops was led by Jason Russell’s nine.
The second half was decided on the defensive end as JJKN Hoops held Vassar to only 14 points while scoring 21. Jason Russell led all scorers with 17 while Mitch Morley added 11 for JJKN Hoops. Jonah Joppich secured seven rebounds, all in the second half to preserve the victory.
“Jonah stepped up big in the second half with his ability to rebound and be strong. We challenged all of the kids at halftime to rebound the ball and play fundamental and focused basketball, which they did. Vassar is going to be a great team to watch the next few years as they continue to play together but my hat is off to our team and the way they played and battled,” JJKN Hoops head coach TJ Newsham said.
Vassar was led by Tyler Humpert with nine while Morrison, Evan Wilcox, Robbie Atwood and Fabbro all added eight. Humpert and Morrison added 11 rebounds each.
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