The562’s coverage of Jordan Athletics is sponsored by John Ross, Class of 2013.
It’s every coach’s favorite challenge: Figuring out how their team will respond after winning a championship.
Coming off their CIF-SS Division 4A title last Saturday, the Jordan Panthers were less than sharp on Tuesday night in North Long Beach. However, their reliable rotation of scorers came through again, and this time it was senior Kane Young dropping 29 points to lead the Panthers to a 72-65 win over Venice.
“I was very disappointed in our free throw shooting, and the offensive rebounds we gave up were ridiculous,” said Jordan head coach Chris Francis after the game. “But we got the W, that’s all that counts … I felt like we kind of had a championship hangover in my opinion, we came out flat. But, we persevered and we got it done.”
This was the first State playoff game for Jordan since March 7, 2006, and appears to be the first victory for Jordan in the State playoffs in at least a quarter century. A sold-out crowd lined Ron Massey Court on Tuesday, giving the Panthers everything they had to will their team across the finish line.
After the visiting Gondoliers got out to a quick 11-6 lead, the Panthers closed the first quarter on a 7-0 run and led the rest of the night. J-Town led 30-20 at halftime, and went up by as many as 13 in the second half, but Venice dominated on the offensive glass and were able to battle back to within three in the final minutes.
Ultimately, Jordan came together and made enough plays–and free throws–down the stretch to move on to the second round. Francis said that Young was “clearly the best player on the floor” in his estimation and he was proud of the way he elevated his game when his team needed him.
“I just feel like we were out of character,” said Young of the team’s overall performance. “We were all playing for ourselves, and we won CIF with each other. I just feel like we came out like we already won, and that's not the mentality we need to have. We won, now let's go get more. Let’s win State, let’s do something that hasn't been done before.”
Free throws were a key for both teams, as each side left plenty of points at the line. Venice was 16/30 (53.3%) at the stripe while Jordan was a little better–24/39 (61.5%)--in their attempts. The Panthers made them when it counted, however, as Venice was only 6/15 at the charity stripe in the fourth quarter while Jordan sank 14 of 17 free throws over the final eight minutes to secure the win.
A total of 47 fouls were called between the two teams–including three technical fouls. Each side had three players foul out, opening up some late minutes for players off the bench.
“I'm proud of my bench guys,” said Francis. “Shout out to Kris Floyd, I thought he came in and gave me some great minutes. I thought Jaymari Redmond was awesome. He's the glue of this team. He doesn’t get all the glamor every night, but he makes all those little plays. He had some big steals and layups in his game that were critical.”
Dennis Redmond had 15 points for Jordan while Franklyn Chambers added 11 and Jaymari Redmond chipped in eight.
Tyler Hunt had a team-high 23 points for Venice and Jacob Gill added 18.
The No. 4 seed Panthers will remain at home in the second round, hosting Beaumont on Thursday at 7 p.m. Barring upsets elsewhere in the bracket, Thursday’s game could be Jordan’s final appearance on Ron Massey Court this season.
