By GREG MENGELT
Like in Friday’s season opener, the Red Devils fell behind early against Cincinnati powerhouse Walnut Hills (2-1). This time, however, they weren’t unable to mount a comeback like in Friday’s 61-47 victory over Evansville North.
Instead, 6-foot-8 junior Tyler McKinley and the Eagles were too much for Jeff in a 74-50 blowout at the BodyArmor Showcase at the Charlestown Sports Arena.
In Friday’s win, Jeff had just 16 points at halftime. In Saturday’s loss, the Devils scored just 9 points in the first 16 minutes.
“I knew it was going to be a challenge coming in,” Jeff coach Andrew Grantz said. “(Walnut Hills is) a very, very good team. …
The 11th-ranked Red Devils were without star and Drake recruit Will Lovings-Watts for the second straight game. Following the game, Grantz simply said “no comment” when asked about Lovings-Watt’s situation, including how long he would be out.
All Grantz said about the situation was, “Not having Will hurts a lot.”
Jeffersonville trailed 23-8 after one quarter and 29-9 at the break. Jeff’s lone second-quarter point came on a free throw from freshman Tre Singleton.
“When you look at our team — and this is what we’re trying to get across to our guys — besides Brandon (Rayzer-Moore) and Kobe (Stoudemire), we have a group that didn’t play much last year. Last night was their first varsity game and tonight was their second varsity game, going up against a really, really good Walnut Hills team. … We’ve got to have a growth mindset early, especially being a little shorthanded, but these experiences for these guys early I still think will help us get to where we need to be at the end of the year. … These guys need to go through the fire a little bit.”
The Eagles outscored the Red Devils 24-18 in the third quarter for an insurmountable 53-28 advantage, but Jeff showed some fight in the fourth quarter, led by freshmen Singleton, PJ Douglas, Shawn Boyd, Michael Cooper and Ray Laird.
Laird, Singleton, Boyd and Douglas combined for 17 points in the second half. Douglas finished with 8 points and Singleton had 6 for Jeff, which scored almost half of its points in the fourth quarter (23 of 50).
“The freshmen stepped up,” Grantz said. “I thought PJ Douglas was fantastic as far as getting the ball in the areas we needed to get the ball to. The other freshmen, too, they’ve stepped up. I’ve been impressed with them. ”Their big thing is just the consistency of that every day. That comes with maturity. And then also being able to carry that over to play at the high school varsity level vs. middle school level. That’s a big jump. I know they’re ready for it. Just looking for consistency.”
Grantz said playing time is there for the taking for his talented freshman crew.
“My philosophy is if those guys show up every single day and they’re doing what I’m asking them to do, there’s always minutes (available),” Grantz said of his freshman class. “I’m not a coach who predetermines lineups. … I don’t give playing time. Players take playing time. There’s opportunities for No. 1 through No. 30 in our program.”
Jeff took an early 3-2 lead on a 3-point play by senior Rayzer-Moore. Rayzer Moore, who scored 33 points to lead Friday’s comeback win, scored the Devils’ first 6 points, but Walnut Hill closed the quarter on a 21-5 run.
Jeff was even more out of sorts offensively in the second quarter. The Devils didn’t make a basket and missed open shots and layups throughout the period.
McKinley, who sat out more than 7 minutes in the second quarter in foul trouble, returned in the third to score 8 more points. The junior star, who’s being recruited by the likes of Cincinnati, Kansas State and South Carolina, finished with a game-high 20. Senior Owen Murray went 4 for 4 from behind the 3-point line in the third period for 12 of his 15 points.
Senior Kobe Stoudmire and Rayzer-Moore scored 10 points apiece to lead Jeff.
The Red Devils look to get back on track Friday when they go to the famed Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium — the site of the 4A sectional and regional — to take on 3-1 Seymour. The Owls already have road wins at Columbus North and Franklin. Their only loss came in double overtime against country-rival Brownstown Central.
It’s Jeff’s Hoosier Hills Conference opener.
“Our big thing is we try to take everything one at a time,” Grantz said.
