The562’s coverage of Jordan Athletics is sponsored by John Ross, Class of 2013.
The Jordan boys’ basketball team is in the CIF Southern Section semifinals for the first time since 2006, the last year they won a CIF-SS title. The Moore League champs are just two wins away from that ultimate goal thanks to an impressive win over Cate in the Division 4A quarterfinals at home on Tuesday evening. Jordan 26 points in the first quarter, built a 13-point halftime lead, and kept Cate at arm’s length in the second half of an 89-74 victory.
Jordan coach Chris Francis described prior to the game how he thought it would go–that Jordan’s pressure would create a stretch where Cate struggled to score and that the Panthers would pull away and stay ahead after that. His words proved to be true.
“We just feel like in this division, we probably have the best athletes on the floor,” he said. “It plays a big part. We like to play fast, we like to speed people up. But sometimes we can speed ourselves up. Tonight I thought we played under control, and once again it was a total team effort.”
Frankie Chambers put up 29 points, four assists, and three steals and hit some huge shots in the first quarter, which saw Jordan win the frame 26-21. Cate scored well enough to withstand the Jordan barrage in the opening quarter, despite turning it over five times. But in the second, Jordan held them to 12 points while scoring another 22 points, building a 13-point lead they never relinquished.
“It’s all about defense for us,” said Chambers. “We get a lot of points off fast breaks and turnovers so when we’re playing hard on defense we’re going to score no matter what.”
The teams played more or less even in the second half, with Jordan winning the third quarter by three points and Cate winning the fourth by one, but the lead the Panthers built in the second won them the game. It was an impressive effort in front of an impressive home crowd, and anyone who was present for the great coach Ron Massey’s runs at Jordan couldn’t help but notice the similarities in Francis’ teams and Massey’s program. This year’s Jordan team is both more athletic, and also more fundamental than its playoff opponents.
“Coach Massey, he and I had a great relationship,” said Francis. “I spoke at his retirement party. I don’t want to take credit for any of this–it’s the community. It’s the Northside. I’m doing it the same way he did it, with Northside kids. Our kids went to Lindbergh and Lindsey and Hamilton and Hughes (middle schools). We’ve got Northside kids and we’ve got a Northside outcome.”
The North Long Beach community came out in force and was vocal throughout the game, with a marching band and cheerleading section showing out too. When Chambers put down a huge exclamation point dunk on Cate’s Babacar Pouye, the gym at Ron Massey Court erupted, and it felt like old times.
“We’ve had alums from the 70s and 80s coming back and telling us how proud they are,” said Francis. “You can see the grit of this community in the support we’re getting. I love it. I love it.”
Pouye had a sensational game for Cate, with 36 points, 17 rebounds, and six blocked shots. Francis said they knew he’d be the focal point based on film, but that he showed up even better than they’d expected him to be. The 6-8 center was the game’s leading scorer and rebounder, and made 6/10 3-pointers.
“I thought he was awesome,” said Francis. “We knew he’d be good but we didn’t see that shooting in the scouting report. We were giving him that to start and he was knocking them down.”
Jordan had balanced scoring once again with 29 from Chambers but 22 points from Dennis Redmond Jr., and 13 points from Kane Young.
Jordan will now hit the road for its semifinal on Friday, traveling to Santa Monica to face Pacifica Christian.
