Smith's shots helps Western stun No. 6 Cypress
ANAHEIM — Cypress guard Jimmy Jackson might be the county’s best shooter in boys high school basketball. Western guard Jason Walker was the city’s best Friday night before Jackson reclaimed his throne with a brilliant display in the fourth quarter.
But Western’s Jonathan Smith made the best shot.
The senior guard sank a deep 3-pointer with four seconds remaining to give the Pioneers a 68-66 victory against No. 6 Cypress in an Empire League game at Western High.
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“Wow. … It’s one step. It’s a great start,” said Western coach Joe Aihara, whose team was playing its league opener. “It was a broken down play for Walker. We improvised and luckily Jon came through.”
Jackson received the ensuing inbound near midcourt and raced to the right corner where he pulled up and got a good look at a 15-footer that just missed.
“He's a heck of a player,” Aihara said of Jackson. “I’ve seen him play all year and make that. Our whole thing was not foul and be ready to double Jimmy.”
Jackson caught fire in the fourth quarter as he scored 13 points while his team erased a 13-point deficit. His jumper with three minutes remaining gave Cypress a 59-58 lead, its first since the beginning of the second quarter.
Jackson scored a season-high 33 points and guard Jalen Hall had 20.
“I thought once we had the lead and with the pressure being on them, we were in pretty good shape,” Cypress coach Jeff Russell said. “They made some big shots throughout the whole game.”
Walker, especially. With the Pioneers trailing by three, the sophomore connected on his seventh 3-pointer to tie the score at 65-all in the final minute. Walker, who made five of his 3-pointers in the first half, finished with 29 points.
“He's our shooter,” Aihara said.
Smith also made several jumpers to finish with 22 points for the Pioneers (11-5, 1-0 Empire).
Aihara attributed the upset over the league favorites partly to a close loss that Western suffered against Cypress (15-2, 1-1) this past summer.
“We’re starting to believe,” Aihara said. “So much of high school basketball is confidence.”
