Jacks go 2-0 on the weekend

This weekend we were home for the Cobblestone Classic. We welcomed two quality and very different types of opponents.

On Friday evening we welcomed Northland Community & Technical College from Thief River Falls, MN. They are a MCAC program that has a storied past and are a great mix of athleticism and shooting. This was a game that was tied at 37 at the half as neither team really was able to get more than a 6 or 7 point advantage. NCTC shot well at 52% for the half, while DCB struggle at 40%. Again the 3 point shot was our Achilles for the half as we gave up 5, however we hit on 3-8 on our own.

We were able to pull away in the 2nd half, starting at around the 15:00 mark. Our defense picked up as well as our shooting, aided by our ability to get to the basket. We would outscore NCTC 46-37 on the way to the 83-74 win. Pat Robinson led us in scoring with 18 on 6-8 from three. Koop McCalop added 16, while Jalyn Turner and Gilbert Carter added 14 and 12 respectively. Darion Hancock led us with 8 rebounds, while our bench was also huge for us. Our bench outscored theirs by a 23-15 margin. Shaq Carlyle led the effort with 9 while Julian Short added 8.

Saturday's game was vs a more half court oriented Concordia JV squad out of Moorhead, MN. They were a team coming in that we knew could stroke it from outside but were also huge. They would boast four players 6'7 or bigger, and started a lineup where the smallest person was their Point Guard at 6'3. Despite these disadvantages we were able to use small ball to blow the game open in the first half on the way to a 56-40 lead. This was aided by 51% shooting, including 7-16 from three. In the second half the lead would get as high as 24, 79-55 before the final of 107-90 was reached.

For the game we shot a great 54%, including 11-22 on three. We also forced them into 15 turnovers and limited them to 40% shooting. Leading the way was Turner with 35 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. He also hit 6-7 from three. McCalop added 28 points and 11 rebounds, including four offensive. Carter scored 15 with eight assists, while Kristoff Walker and Robinson added 10 each.

On the season the Jacks are 8-2, and will next be in action on November 28-29 when they travel to Sheridan, WY to take on Sheridan and Little Big Horn.

Jacks Get a Wild Win

Win's aren't always pretty, but they are wins nonetheless, in this instance winning 110-92. We welcomed Turtle Mountain to our campus last night, and they punched us in the face early. By the 16:00 mark we had more fouls than points, and trailed by 8 or 9 points as we came out very slow. We were able to tie the game a couple times in the first half but a late run gave the Mikinocks a 51-43 lead at halftime. We struggled from the field, shooting  32%. There were a total of 47 free throws shot in the first half as well, as the game was full of fouls with both teams over 10.

In the second, TMCC scored 5 of the first 7 points to push the lead to as much as 13 early in the half. However, after the initial spurt we made our run with defense leading the way. We started to turn them over and gave up one shot per possession. On the other side of the ball led by Jalyn Turner and Gilbert Carter we started to attack and get to the rim. We eventually cut the lead down until we tied the game at 70 and took the lead 73-70 into a timeout, never looking back. The lead would grow slowly the rest of the half until we had our biggest lead at 103-83.

Leading the way was Turner with 29 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Carter scored 23 points with 8 rebounds and 3 assists, Keouvion McCalop added 25 points (21 in the second half) with 13 rebounds and 2 blocks. Off the bench playing a huge role was Shaq Carlyle with 11 points and 5 rebounds.

We improved to 5-1 on the year, and will head to Wahpeton to face Anoka Ramsey on Saturday afternoon and Central Lakes - Brainerd on Sunday.

Opening Weekend Has Arrived

We opened up the season this weekend with the Kevin Thom Classic. This is a classic in memory of a former Lumberjack player. We were able to secure two wins on the weekend.

On Saturday we came out from the tip and jumped all over Canadian Mennonite, going up 22-7 to start the game. We led 61-23 at halftime with all 12 players receiving playing time. In the end we used a 54-38 effort in the 2nd half to get the win 115-61. Leading 6 Jacks in double figures was Louis Williams with 22 on 10-14 shooting. He also added six rebounds. Keouvion McCalop added 21 points, six rebounds and four blocks. Gilbert Carter scored 14 with four rebounds, seven assists, and five steals. Jalyn Turner scored 13 points with four rebounds. Patrick Robinson added 11 points a game high eight steals. The final double digit scorer was Kristoff Walker with 10 points and five steals. The Jacks had an incredible 34 steals.

On Sunday DCB returned to the court and knocked off the University of Winnipeg 84-53. Leading the way was Turner with 18 points, six rebounds, and five assists. McCalop had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds as well as five blocks. Walker scored 13 adding five rebounds, while Robinson and Carter each scored 12 with Robinson adding five assists.

The Jacks are 2-0 on the season and are back in action on Wednesday, November 5th when they travel to Belcourt to take on Turtle Mountain at 8:00 pm.