Defense and discipline proved to be a winning combination for the UTPB men’s basketball team.
DaJuan Jones scored a game-high 18 points to lead the Falcons past Jarvis Christian, 82-68, in the final game of the Walk Ons Sports Bistreaux Thanksgiving Tournament Saturday at the Falcon Dome.
Jones also dished out a game-high 10 assists for UTPB, which swept both games in its home-opening weekend.
Nathaniel Powell and Keyon Craddock each finished with 17 points for the Falcons (4-2), with Powell grabbing a team-high five rebounds.
“It was a good weekend with two wins,” UTPB head coach Kyle Tolin said. “We have some things to work on to get ready for (Lone Star) conference play next week.”
Tory Cargo led the Bulldogs (0-3) with 14 points, with Jakari Jackson and Jakobe Dill each scoring 13 and George Nwogu adding 10 in the loss.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair, with the Falcons emerging from the first 20 minutes with a two-point cushion (40-38) after Jones hit a pair of free throws with 7.4 seconds remaining in the half.
It was a costly half, as well, for both team as UTPB’s leading scorer, Azariah Seay, and Jarvis Christian’s James Phillip Russell each were ejected for Flagrant 2 fouls for elbows with 6:08 remaining in the first half.
“They said they threw elbows and its automatic,” Tolin said. “We were fortunate to have some guys step up for us.
“Keyon and Nathaniel had good games; Keyon could start but we like that spark he gives us off the bench. And DaJuan did a nice job running things.”
One of those was Craddock, who, like he did in Friday’s overtime victory, was able to hit the long-range jumpers, making three of the four 3-pointers he attempted on the afternoon.
The Falcons tried to break the game open before the midway point of the second half, going on a 19-9 run out of the break for a 59-47 lead after a basket by Rodney Carson Jr.
The lead was still a dozen (62-50) when the Bulldogs began to chip away at the deficit thanks to some loose possessions by the Falcons.
With three straight turnovers, UTPB allowed Jarvis Christian within three (62-59) before Craddock stopped the run with a 3-pointer from the left corner.
The Falcons then pushed their defense higher on the floor, got in the passing lanes and frustrated the Bulldogs and that came to a head with 3:38 remaining to play when Jarvis Christian’s Cargo was called for a technical foul.
Bulldogs’ head coach Christopher Avery slammed the ball to the court, drawing a technical foul of his own and when Jones was finished making the four free throws, UTPB led 73-61 and was never challenged the rest of the way.
“We talk about being disciplined and we are still working on that,” said Tolin, in regard to the momentum swing with the second-half technicals.
“I thought we did a better job on defense in the second half, we were able to get some deflections.”
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UTPB 82, Jarvis Christian 68
JARVIS CHRISTIAN (0-3)
Jakari Jackson 4-8 2-3 13, James Phillip Russell 1-3 0-0 3, George Nwogu 5-6 0-1 10, Jamari Robertson 2-6 0-0 4, Jorden Clark 2-7 1-2 5, Iversyn Smith 2-4 0-0 4, Jakobe Dill 4-7 2-2 13, Jaylen Robinson 1-1 0-0 2, Tory Cargo 6-14 0-0 14, Nevin Wright 0-0 0-0 0, Keyshun Bradley 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-58 9-20 68
UTPB (4-2)
Nathaniel Powell 7-8 3-3 17, Jalen King 2-6 1-2 5, DaJuan Jones 2-3 14-16 18, Azariah Seay 2-4 0-0 6, Rodney Carson Jr. 2-7 0-0 4, Daniel Moody 4-11 0-0 9, Keyon Craddock 5-8 4-4 17, Alvarez Powell 0-0 0-0 0, D’Mari Wiltz 0-0 0-0 0, Lino Manhom 2-2 2-3 6, Bryson Morehead 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-49 24-28 82.
Halftime — UTPB 40, Jarvis Christian 38. 3-Point goals — Jarvis Christian 9-20 (Jackson 3-5, Russell 1-2, Nwogu 0-1, Robertson 0-1, Dill 3-5, Cargo 2-6), UTPB 6-16 (King 0-1, Jones 0-1, Seay 2-3, Carson Jr. 0-2, Moody 1-5, Craddock 3-4). Total fouls — Jarvis Christian 21, UTPB 12. Fouled out — Jarvis Christian (Robertson). Technical fouls — Jarvis Christian (Cargo, Bench). Rebounds — Jarvis Christian 33 (Nwogu 5, Clark 5, Bradley 5), UTPB 25 (Powell 5). Assists — Jarvis Christian 10 (Jackson 3), UTPB 17 (Jones 10.
