The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
The562’s coverage of Jordan Athletics is sponsored by John Ross, Class of 2013.
Jordan boys’ basketball has used its superior pace to score a 94-70 win at Wilson on Friday night to move to 10-0 in the Moore League for the first since in more than 19 years.
“When coach (Chris) Francis got here, it’s high intensity, it makes a big difference,” Jordan senior Jerome Wilson said. “It makes a big difference on the team and you can’t beat it.”
Jordan channeled that intensity with turnovers and transition buckets while jumping out to a 22-12 lead. Dennis Redmond Jr. scored 11 points in the first quarter, and Jordan continued to press in the second quarter as Wilson finished the game with 15 points.
“We knew we were undersized, but we just had to run our plays,” Wilson said. “We’re a high intensity team and a lot of teams can’t keep up with us. We just had to keep that up.”
Wilson’s Keon Young didn’t make things easy for Jordan as he scored 40 points short-handed Bruins— who are still without star Sean Oliver.
Jordan’s lead to 45-33 at halftime and then things started to get chippy in the third period as both teams called for technicals.
“I told my guys that I love that their matching the emotions of the game,” Wilson coach James Boykin said. “They’re not backing down, my guys are not built like that. They’re never going to back down. There was a lot of chirping going on out there, but it’s about being able to play with emotion but not go overboard.”
After each team was called for technicals, Jordan didn’t let Wilson get back within 10 points as they continue their journey to an undefeated Moore League season.
“The boys played well,” Jordan coach Chris Francis said. “We had some inconsistencies in our play tonight, but overall played well. We’re not worried about playoffs right now, we’re worried about Lakewood. That’s our next game.”
Jordan will wrap up the regular season against Lakewood and Millikan next week, while Wilson finishes against Cabrillo and Compton.
