Luers-South games live up to hype
Freshman star hits 27 in loss; Knights girls top Archers by 2
By Greg Jones
High school sports editor
Laura J. Gardner/The Journal Gazette
Bishop Luers freshman DeShaun Thomas looks for an open shot as South Side?s Lamont Prosser guards. Thomas scored 27 points in a 68-55 loss.
The fans filled the stands in anticipation. In a rare full house at Bishop Luers, the crowd was there to see something in both ends of a girls-boys basketball doubleheader between Luers and South Side on Friday.
And they weren?t disappointed in either.
In the girls opener, the two best teams in the SAC battled in a 41-39 Luers? win. In the boys nightcap, Knights? freshman phenom DeShaun Thomas delivered 27 points and 15 rebounds in a 68-55 loss to the Archers.
It was certainly something for everybody, including a couple of college coaches who were there undoubtedly to see Thomas, who had his second straight 27-point night.
?That?s all we heard about this week,? said South Side senior Juston Hairston, who had 15 points and a couple of crowd-pleasing fourth-quarter dunks. ?It was ?who is going to hold DeShaun?? and all this. I don?t think of any of us were worried about DeShaun. He is still a freshman, and (we) treated him like a freshman.?
South Side (4-0, 1-0 SAC) got 24 points from Fred Ford, who also threw down a couple of dunks in the fourth quarter.
?That?s what me and Fred like to do, that?s have fun,? Hairston said.
Thomas, though, was who all eyes were on, including Ohio State coach Thad Matta. Thomas added two assists and two blocks and had two rebound dunks to impress his growing fan base.
?He did well, but you have to keep things in perspective,? Bishop Luers coach James Blackmon said of Thomas. ?There is a big burden on his shoulders as far as stepping in as a freshman and getting all the attention.
?I thought he held up well, and he stayed poised.?
After trailing by 13 points at halftime, Thomas led the Knights (1-1, 0-1 SAC) back in the third quarter with nine points.
In the girls game, the outcome lived up to the billing even though it wasn?t the best-looking win for the Class 3A No. 1 Knights (7-1, 2-0) against the 4A No. 4 Archers (6-1, 1-1).
?We were ready for a battle to the death, and it got a little tight at the end,? Luers coach Teri Rosinski said. ?We were under some distress, and we came through.?
South Side cut a nine-point deficit to start the fourth quarter to one, at 40-39, with just 11 seconds left. The shots ? and free throws ? just wouldn?t fall at the end for the Archers.
Sha?la Jackson missed a runner with 2 seconds left. Jackson, the area?s leading scorer, also misfired on 6 of 7 free throws, and as a team, the Archers made only 2 of 11 from the line in the fourth.
The Knights couldn?t ever seal the deal while struggling from the line and field themselves. Luers missed all seven field-goal attempts and 7 of 14 from the line.
?If we made a few more shots, it might have been a different game,? South Side coach Andy Rang said.
?We had our chance to beat them and couldn?t get it done.?
Luers? MarKee Martin hit 3 of 4 free throws in the fourth quarter en route to a team-high 15 points.
?They are a very a competitive team,? Martin said of South Side. ?I was just out there having fun. If you can?t have fun, then why be out there.?
Despite having the flu, Jackson led South Side with 21 points, 17 in the second half.
?We knew Sha?la would get hers,? Rosinski said. ?We just didn?t know it would come when it did.?
Maceya Mingo added 12 points for the Archers.
Behind 34-25 after three quarters, the Archers got back into the game behind a 13-4 run to open the fourth to get within 38-37.
?I was proud of the way we battled back,? Rang said. ?We never let up, and eventually had a chance to win.?
Luers was hurt by 24 turnovers, including 13 in the first half.
?We pushed and shoved and battled,? Rosinski said.
Whether it be the Knights? defense or some early nerves, the Archers struggled offensively in the first half and trailed by 10, 22-12.
South Side made only 5 of 24 in the first two quarters, including 1 of 11 in the first.
Jackson, who came into the game averaging 28 points a game, didn?t score until two minutes were gone in the second.
She missed her first seven shots and was only 2 of 13 from the field.
Eleven turnovers didn?t help the Archers? cause either. Mingo helped keep South Side in the game with eight points, but even she struggled, especially with 2 of 6 from the free-throw line. Amber Gottfried and Martin each had six points to lead the Knights in the first half.
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