What was supposed to be the final game of the Willamette Valley Jaguars' (1-17) season versus the Seattle Super Hawks (12-9) quickly turned into a friendly scrimmage when the Super Hawks' team bus broke down on their way to Corvallis, forcing them to forfeit.
The change of plans happened only two hours before game time, and fortunately, a temporary scrimmage team was quickly assembled to give the Jags one last game at home. Consisting of ex-Jaguar players, friends, and even the team owner, Marion Clark, the scrimmage team was named “Fresh.”
After starting the game with missed threes from both teams, guard Davion Burdette got the scoring started when he hit from the corner back-to-back times to give the Fresh momentum and start them off with an early lead. The Jags fired back and went ahead thanks to a scoring run led by a tough bucket inside from forward Cyaron Williams and a corner trey-ball from guard Adrian “Ace” Stevens.
The Jags were also getting it done on the defensive end. Point guard Brandon Hanson showed off his bounce by blocking a three, and forward Tavion Johnson turned defense into offense when his emphatic swat off the backboard turned into two points on the other end. With the Jags on top 22-15, a timeout was called with 3:16 left in the first quarter.
Nearing the end of quarter one, the Jags stretched their lead up to 10. The Fresh answered quickly, sparked by an and-one by the owner of the team, Clark. To cap off the Fresh’s 8-0 run, guard Jordan Inge collected his own rebound off a missed free throw, brought it back behind the 3-point line, and drained a deep shot to beat the first quarter buzzer. Going into the second, the Jags led 31-28.
In the second quarter, both teams started on fire. Shots were falling left and right from deep, as the Fresh’s guards Inge and Nate Kingz contributed in a big way. The Fresh steamrolled ahead to take their first lead of the quarter, but the Jags were not letting up. Tayvion Johnson received a technical foul after showing some emotion on a layup, which helped to fuel the Jags for the rest of the quarter.
Jags forward Troy Mix Jr. was hot for the entire second quarter. Connecting on five threes throughout the period, he couldn’t miss. With three of his makes from beyond the arc coming in the first seven minutes of the quarter, Mix Jr. helped the Jags surge ahead. While Kingz and the Fresh did their best to stay in it, the rest of the first half was all Jags.
The final few minutes of the half were nothing short of amazing for the Jags. Hanson got to the basket for a strong layup and foul, Mix Jr. hit a couple more threes, and everyone else was doing their part as well. Closing out the quarter, high-flying forward Brandon Suttles rose up for a powerful slam, giving the Jags a 70-62 lead and all the momentum going into halftime.
Troy Mix Jr. got it started for the Jags in the third. After picking up seven quick points in two minutes and extending their lead to 14, the Fresh needed a quick timeout to talk things over.
Just as it began to look down for the Fresh, Inge, Kingz, Dawson Hunter, and Darius Morrow flipped a switch, and went on a run to bring them within two with four minutes remaining in the quarter.
The rest of the third stayed neck-and-neck, but Mix Jr. stayed hot and helped the Jags end the quarter with a 106-102 lead.
With the final period underway, Suttles made a statement when he threw down a vicious dunk off an alley-oop. The Fresh were able to make a push and tie the game at 114, turning it into a back-and-forth, high-intensity game for the last seven minutes.
With both teams on a heater, points were coming early and often. After a triple from Stevens, Kingz brought the Fresh within one after cashing in from the free-throw stripe. This signaled the home stretch of the game, and a timeout was called by Jags head coach Mary Stade with just under three minutes remaining.
Coming out of timeout, a few blunders by the Fresh helped the Jags push their lead back up to five, 133-128.
That marked the end of the night for the Fresh, as missed threes and free throws cemented the game and gave the Jags the win by a final score of 137-130.
This game marked the end of the season for the Jaguars. The fun, but hard-fought battle, left everyone entertained and lifted spirits going into next year. Looking forward, the Jags are excited to continue developing this young team and head into year three with pride.