Cypress' Jackson too much for Valencia

January 25, 2012 10:53 PM

By ADAM MAYA

OCVARSITY.COM

CYPRESS - Warning, Empire League.

Cypress guard Jimmy Jackson isn’t happy and is determined to take it out on his peers.

“He's had a chip on his shoulder after playing them for four years,” Centurions coach Jeff Russell said. “He wants to go out playing well.”

Jackson said goodbye to Valencia by scoring a career-high 39 points in a 66-45 victory at home on Wednesday.

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BOYS BASKETBALL

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The senior guard scored at least 8 points in every quarter and made 14 free throws. He also uncharacteristically missed five, which might have been a first and seemed to only incense him further.

“Never,” Russell said when asked if he remembers Jackson missing that many free throws in a single game. “When he struggled earlier (in the year) he might have missed five in three games and he was pretty upset.”

With Cypress leading 38-31 early in the third quarter, Jackson, who had missed four free throws in the first half, drained five consecutive jumpers. He scored 12 points in a row and 15 overall in 19-5 Centurions run.

"He's an extremely smart basketball player," Russell said. "It's things you cant teach: where to go on the court, how to come off a screen, how to use your teamates."

The choppy affair was physical and plagued by several fouls, with Cypress stuffing the lane and baiting Valencia into several perimeter shots.

“We couldn’t get into a rhythm,” Tigers coach Dean Yoshimura said.

Guard Jalen Hall had 11 points for the Centurions (19-3, 5-2).

Valencia (9-12, 3-4) got 18 points from guard Sean Steinke, who suffered a mild ankle sprain in the third quarter and briefly returned before missing most of the half. Yoshimura is hopeful Steinke can play Friday.

“We made it really tough for them to get good shots," Russell said. "Every time one of the other guys took a shot and Steinke didn't take a shot, that played into our favor."

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