SportsJanuary 6, 2023
Jadis Jones joins 1,000-point club in win over Notre Dame
NEW MADRID, Mo. — Jadis Jones surpassed 1,000 career points during a win over Notre Dame on Thursday, Jan. 5. The standout junior scored a game-high 25 for New Madrid County Central, while also grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out several assists in the 65-52 win...
By Dennis Marshall/Standard Democrat
NEW MADRID, Mo. — Jadis Jones surpassed 1,000 career points during a win over Notre Dame on Thursday, Jan. 5.
The standout junior scored a game-high 25 for New Madrid County Central, while also grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out several assists in the 65-52 win.
“We came out big,” Jones said. “It’s kind of hard to get back into a groove after the long break, but I felt like we played defense the way coach wanted tonight.”
What makes the feat even more spectacular is that Jones has been doubled and tripled teamed for most of his high school career.
“Scoring that [1,000th point] was a great feeling I can’t even begin to explain,” Jones continued. “It was great to have support from friends, family and people that care about you. Now I want to see one of my teammates get it.”
It’s an understatement to say the Eagles (7-3) and Bulldogs (5-8) have contrasting styles. NMCC wants to get the ball inside on nearly every possession while Notre Dame likes to move the ball around the 3-point arc and rely on its outside shooting, which was on full display when the Bulldogs knocked down a school-record 17 3-pointers on the final day of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.
“It’s tough playing an opponent like that,” said NMCC assistant coach Dontre Jenkins. “You just have to get the team focused and ready mentally because we know Notre Dame is going to keep fighting until that final buzzer. That’s just the type of team and program they are.”
Staying true to form, the Eagles jumped out to a 6-1 lead after Brayden Newsome scored back-to-back buckets in the post and Jones added a layup off an assist from BJ Williamson.
Notre Dame narrowed the lead to 6-4 after Kolton Johnson made a 3-pointer, but Newsom came right back on the other end, finishing at the rim through contact and converting the 3-point play at the charity stripe.
“We did a good job of feeding [Newsom] the ball,” Jenkins said. “And he did a good job of going up and scoring like a man. He also had some big offensive rebounds that led to some second-chance points. He showed up big for us tonight.”
Reece Callow buried outside shots on the Bulldogs’ next two possessions to give the team a 10-9 advantage with about two minutes remaining in the opening quarter. However, it wouldn’t last for long as Jones answered with a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession.
“We’re all getting more comfortable shooting the ball,” Jones said. “We’ve all been working hard on it in practice. It’s really boosting our confidence now that they’re starting to go in.”
NMCC extended the lead to 16-10 at the end of the first quarter after finishing turnovers on Notre Dame’s final three possessions of the quarter.
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“We came out aggressive on the defensive end,” Jenkins said. “We had a couple of guys get into some foul trouble early because they were going for steals instead of being in the right position. That kind of changed the tempo of the game having those guys on the bench, but we had some others step up.”
NMCC increased the lead to 21-12 a couple of minutes in the second quarter after a 3-pointer from Williamson and a steal and score from Newsom and led 33-23 at halftime after a pull-up jumper from Jones at the buzzer.
Both teams did a nice job of matching the other’s strengths. Notre Dame was solid on the glass and better than expected against NMCC’s size, as the teams finished with comparable rebounding numbers, and the Eagles did a nice job countering the Bulldogs shooting prowess by knocking down some jump shots of their own.
NMCC extended the lead to 20 points just before the end of the third quarter after a takeaway and a one-handed slam from Jones.
“[NMCC is] a great team,” said Notre Dame coach Paul Unterreiner. “We tried to pack it in and make them shoot it. They see that all the time and they hit some shots tonight. If a couple more shots go our way and a couple don’t go theirs, it could have been a different game. But I was super proud of our guys on the glass. That’s the thing that stuck out to me; How hard we played.”
The Bulldogs showed a lot of fight in the final quarter and nearly narrowed the lead back to single digits at one point, but Jones and company proved to be too much.
“Our guys know that no one expects us to be in any game,” Unterreiner said. “We had two starters out tonight and we battled our tails off. I couldn’t be more proud of them. I don’t want them to be happy with the fact that we lost, but [NMCC] is the No. 1 team in Class 3 for a reason. We came to their place and gave them everything we could.”
Newsom and Williamson each added 17 for the Eagles, while Johnson led the Bulldogs with 16.
NMCC will return to the hardwood at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 7, when they take on Bloomington Central Catholic (10-4) at the 31st annual Highland Optimist Scott Credit Union Shootout in Highland, Illinois.
Notre Dame travels to Cape Central (7-0) on Tuesday, Jan. 10.
NMCC 65, NOTRE DAME 52
Notre Dame 10 13 8 21 — 52
NMCC 16 17 18 14 — 65
__Notre Dame (52) —__ Kolton Johnson 16, Reece Callow 12, Carson Essner 8, Greg Dennis 5, Brock Clippard 4, Will Henry Steward 4, Brett Dohogne 3. FG: 20. FT: 2-3. F: 15. (3-pointers: Johnson 4, Callow 4, Dennis 1, Dohogne 1. Fouled out: none.)
__NMCC (65) —__ Jadis Jones 25, BJ Williamson 17, Brayden Newsom 17, Kayden Minner 3, AJ Ruff 3. FG: 17. FT: 10-18. F: 12. (3-pointers: Williamson 3, Jones 1, Minner 1. Fouled out: none.)
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