Boys Basketball: Eagles rally to knock off Jackson in regular-season finale
The Skyline boys’ basketball team earned a hard fought victory at Jackson on Tuesday night in an SEC crossover game. After a long freshmen game that started at 4 p.m. and a JV game that went into overtime with many fouls and then a special parent night for Jackson’s basketball team and cheerleaders, the varsity game didn’t tip off until 8:10 p.m. with a scheduled 7 p.m. start time.
Skyline got off to a very slow start to an attacking Jackson team that started out hot from the floor. Jackson took an early 16-4 lead with some transition scoring and a thunder dunk. Jackson ended the first quarter with a lead of 16-7.
Things only got a little better for Skyline in the second quarter as Jackson was still a step quicker and more on target shooting. The home team took a 31-24 halftime lead with Kabir Bergin hitting a three-pointer at the buzzer to cut the lead under double digits.
The third quarter started with Jackson quickly getting the lead back to double digits. But the Eagles started to play more together on defense and started rebounding better against the much bigger Jackson front line. Skyline had more poise on offense running their sets and cut into the lead.
Jackson had a 41-40 lead after three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, Skyline was able to get defensive stops and continue to execute better on the offensive end. Bergin knocked down a few more triples to help Skyline extend the lead late and they put the game away at the free-throw line.
Bergin had a much needed huge game with 21 points and 5 rebounds.
Will Gardner gave Skyline huge minutes battling in the paint and working hard to get rebounds and protect the rim. He finished with 4 points and 5 rebounds.
Chris Cayton managed to get 15 points and 6 rebounds with 5 of those points at the free-throw line. Jack Williams had 10 points and 5 rebounds. Jermaine Davis had 6 points and 4 assists. Ashay Arora had 2 points and 2 rebounds. James Harrison (4 rebounds) and Gabe Kellman brought much needed intensity to the defensive end.
Skyline ends the regular season at 14-6 and heads into Districts on Monday vs. Pinckney at Brighton High School. Game starts at 5 p.m. The winner will play Dexter on Wednesday in the first of two semifinal games at Brighton.
