Jones' buzzer-beater saves Centennial in rematch against Stockdale
Jan. 26—So much of Thursday night's Centennial-Stockdale rematch had been the Rippen Gill show, with the junior guard draining threes and dishing out no-look passes, that it seemed obvious the Golden Hawks would go to him down one point with 19 seconds left.
Clearly, Stockdale thought so too, because after the Mustangs fouled twice to drain time off the clock, Myles Elam absolutely blanketed Gill on the perimeter, and Jhace Boston offered help when he got near the paint.
But Gill reached between the two defenders to dump the ball off to Jay Jay Jones, who rounded Joaquin Rios at the block, stretched under the basket and laid the ball in as time expired to give Centennial a 52-51 home win.
"We tried to get the ball to Rip on a 1-4 flat, and they were trying to foul him but the ref wasn't calling it," Centennial coach Stephon Carter said. "But Jay Jay came through. That's the second game-winner he's made for us this season at the buzzer, same kind of fashion, and it just shows the grit and fight of our team."
Centennial looked to have seized control in the final minutes when it took possession with a 48-44 lead, but Rios snagged a steal and found Karsten Adeleye for a corner 3-pointer. Then the Golden Hawks added a Jones layup and looked to have come down with a defensive rebound with just over a minute left, but Elam took it away and added a layup of his own to cut the deficit to 50-49.
Boston went hard to the basket and was fouled with 19 seconds left. He sank both free throws and could have been the hero.
But Carter had a message for his team in the timeout that followed: "Get it together, collect your thoughts, calm down, we've been in this situation at least six times. We know how to win, we know how to come out with it."
He put the ball in Gill's hands because Gill had already accumulated 18 points on the night and was scoring with ease down the stretch, a change from his more labored performance when Stockdale and Centennial met on Jan. 10, a game in which the Golden Hawks' supporting cast stepped up.
The premier member of that supporting cast came through again in the most crucial moment.
"Jay Jay didn't give up at the end ... He had the common sense to take his time and get a bucket at the buzzer," Carter said.
Jones finished with 10 points and, much like in the previous matchup, was a force on the boards.
Rios led Stockdale with 16 points and was able to get to the paint more effectively than practically anyone else on the court, but he also faded into the background for a long third-quarter stretch during which Centennial took the lead. Boston had 14 (10 in the first half), including the go-ahead free throws late. Adeleye equaled that total thanks to a sharp shooting performance from deep.
The Mustangs jumped out to eight- and 11-point leads in the first half to stun their hosts in what was a battle of 3-pointers early on. Back-to-back 3s from Boston and Adeleye, plus a Gurshawn Manak transition layup, gave Stockdale its largest lead at 29-18 and forced a timeout from Carter.
The Golden Hawks responded with a 3-pointer from EJ West (who had 11 points overall) and ended up trailing just 30-25 at halftime.
"To put it into words, our team's very resilient," Carter said. "This is the second, third game that we've had like this in league, and they just figure out how to win."
Centennial took a long-awaited lead with just over a minute remaining in the third quarter on a Jaxton Santiago layup after back-to-back baskets by Gill, the culmination of an 18-6 run.
The comeback performance was a reversal of the Jan. 10 matchup, in which Centennial led by 14 and Stockdale eventually dragged the Golden Hawks into overtime. But despite the contrasting paths to victory, Centennial did pull out both games.
The Golden Hawks now have a two-game lead in the South Yosemite River League at 20-3 (5-0 SYRL), entering a non-league clash at Bakersfield Christian Saturday. Stockdale dropped to 21-3 (3-2 SYRL) and will host Liberty on Tuesday.
Reporter Henry Greenstein can be reached at 661-395-7374. Follow him on Twitter: @HenryGreenstein.
