Winning on the road is never easy. So when the Jackson High School boys’ basketball team traveled to Toms River East last Friday night, Coach Rob Goodall knew it would take a monumental effort to escape with a victory.
With a chance to qualify for the Shore Conference Tournament hanging in the balance, Jackson used a balanced scoring attack to register a dramatic 73-71 overtime victory.
The Jags had four players score in double digits as they improved their record to 10-9 overall and 6-6 in the conference.
"When we started out the season we had two goals in mind," Goodall said. "We wanted to qualify for both the state and Shore Conference tournaments. This was a huge opportunity for us. We knew there was a lot riding on this game. The kids stepped up as a team and played very well. Anytime you can knock off a team like East at home, it’s recognized as a quality win."
The Jags squared off against Mater Dei High School in the first round of the Shore Conference Tournament on Tuesday. With a victory, Jackson would meet Middletown North in the Round of 16.
"My feeling is we can beat every team in this tournament, with the exception of Neptune and CBA," Goodall said. "On any given night we can give a lot of teams in this tournament a lot of trouble. The key for us is being consistent. That is a must if we are to make any noise whatsoever."
Jackson had the ball and a chance to win in regulation, but a last-second jump shot by junior forward Jeff Warner missed, forcing the extra period.
Toms River East held a 71-70 in the extra session when Warner would get another shot at winning the game. With 40 seconds remaining, sophomore lead guard Ryan Moglia drove the lane, then dished to the uncovered Warner, who drained a three-pointer for the game winner.
"We got the ball back with about 40 seconds remaining in the overtime," Goodall said. "We tried to run a couple of different things that went bust. Finally, Moglia used dribble penetration to draw the defense, then fed Warner, who knocked it down."
However, East still had 30 seconds left to tie for a win. In an attempt to baffle East’s offense, Goodall changed defenses for the final possession. East managed a couple of off-balance shots before Jackson rebounded as time expired.
Goodall wanted to prevent the ball getting into the hands of either Kyle Solheim or David Kasyan, who scored a game-high 27 points.
"We didn’t want to see either one of those guys take the last shot," Goodall said. "We accomplished that. They were forced to have other players get off the final shots."
Goodall feels the last second switch of defenses made a difference.
"We had been playing man the entire game," Goodall said. "We thought if we changed defenses it would give them problems. We switched to a triangle and two. I think it took them by surprise. They managed to get off a couple of low-percentage shots."
Warner led Jackson’s offensive attack with 20 points. Moglia and Justin Fields chipped in with 18 points apiece. Moglia connected on seven of eight free throws while handing out many key assists.
Jackson connected on 16 of 19 foul shots as a team.
Goodall was impressed with the effort of Moglia, who has struggled with a leg injury for most of the season.
"We feel the leg is pretty much healed," Goodall said. "We challenged him this week to step up and play the way we know he is capable. He showed tonight that, without a doubt, he is one of the best point guards in the league. We need to get that kind of effort from him on a consistent basis."
Jackson and Toms River East have split games. Yet the two schools will square off one more time in the opening round of the state tournament. East will host the game.
"I expect it to be another dogfight," Goodall said. "They beat us the first game, but the game was much closer than the score represented. But we’ll have to go there and beat them for a second time at home. If we play the way we did [last time], we are capable of pulling it off."