More News

Jaguars make a mark

Win against Spartans gives team sole possession of first place in County 4A

Thursday, Jan. 18, 2007

Click here to enlarge this photo Raphael Talisman⁄The Gazette Flowers senior center Daniel Thompson (right) pulls a defensive rebound away from teammate Jervan Wright during the Jaguars’ County 4A League victory Tuesday in Laurel.

‘‘For now,” McClure replied with trepidation. A veteran of the 4A wars, McClure understands the ebb and flow of the three-month marathon to the state Final Four at the University of Maryland’s Comcast Center.

At the midway point of the season, the Springdale school is atop the league standings — for now. But McClure was relieved with how his Jaguars (8-1 in the league) responded after losing their first conference game against upstart Bladensburg High last Friday.

‘‘People were stopping me in the hall asking what happened against Bladensburg. Bladensburg’s got a good team,” said McClure, whose Jaguars have won 11 of their first 12 contests. ‘‘We kind of needed this just to put the ship back on the level ground.”

There’s rarely a time that Jordan Brooks isn’t the smallest player on the court, but Flowers’ 5-foot-6 senior guard usually has a huge impact. In the final quarter Tuesday evening, Brooks was the difference in the battle for first place in the County 4A.

Leading by as many as 13 points, the Jaguars’ advantage was down to five at 53-48 with a little over four minutes remaining. Brooks weaved through Laurel’s trapping defense and hit a short pull up jumper, converting a tough floater off an assist from Darren Clark. He returned the favor to Clark, who drilled a three-pointer, giving Flowers a 60-52 cushion with two minutes left.

A second-team Star⁄Gazette selection last season, Brooks is the lone returning starter from the Jaguars’ 2005-06 league title squad. Even with almost an entirely new starting lineup, Brooks said Flowers hasn’t missed a beat.

‘‘We’ve been together since last spring in the weight room, running on the track in the summer, summer league,” said Brooks, who had six of his 13 points in the final period, and finished with four assists. ‘‘We’re all good friends, and that comes together on the court.”

Billed as a matchup of the county’s top guards in Brooks and Laurel senior Chris Tolson, several supporting players gained top billing in what was arguably the biggest game to date in the County 4A. Flowers senior center Daniel Thompson (17 points, eight rebounds and seven blocked shots) and sophomore forward Jervan Wright (eight points and 13 rebounds) controlled the paint and limited 6-9 Spartans’ center Milade Charles to two points.

Clark, a senior who missed last season because of injuries from a car accident, had four three-pointers among his 16 points for the Jaguars.

Junior Nitcheu matched Clark with four three-pointers as the Laurel senior forward had a game-high 21 points. Tolson, headed to Hampton University next year, finished with 17 points and eight assists. The Spartans, who never led after the middle of the opening period, hindered their effort with an 11-of-25 performance from the free throw line.

‘‘I think we were more into the hype of the game than the game itself,” said Tolson, whose team has dropped two of its last three after starting 10-0. ‘‘If we’d just played the game and not worried about it being a first-place game and a packed crowd, we would’ve been fine.”

Though the team is back in sole possession of first place, Flowers can hardly rest. The Jaguars’ next three games are against Henry A. Wise High (off to an 8-5 start in its first varsity campaign), Suitland, which defeated the Jaguars in last year’s South Region semifinals, and defending region champ Eleanor Roosevelt.

‘‘It’s a day-to-day thing,” said McClure, whose team leads Laurel (7-2) and Bladensburg (7-2) in the standings. ‘‘We don’t want to make too much of this. It’s one game.”

E-mail Derek Toney at dtoney@gazette.net.