Intensity. That was the mantra of the Jonesboro squad going into this game, and they brought it. The Cardinals stayed strong defensively and took advantage of poor shooting from St. Pius to pad the lead and put away the game 57-37 in the Class AAAA quarterfinal game.
“We need to match their intensity” said Jonesboro head coach Daniel Maehlman, “We need to handle the pressure and take care of the basketball.” His team did just that.
Jonesboro amassed a 29-13 lead at halftime to apply pressure and force St. Pius to answer offensively, which they could not. Pius shot 1-for-8 from behind the arc in the first half and did not improve in the
second half. Pius put together a 10-4 run to open the fourth quarter. The run was fueled by a man-to-man full-court press, however Jonesboro answered with solid perimeter shooting and a fury of offensive rebounds that kept their lead safe.
“I thought our kids executed well” said Maehlman. “Sure, we had breakdowns. But for a 32-minute period to hold a team like that, (who are) really good within their scheme, it’s hard to guard. It’s very hard to guard. To hold them to 37 points, I feel we did a fantastic job.”
Jonesboro was led in scoring by Walker Jr., who finished with 18 points, and Jamari Smith who scored 14. St. Pius was paced by Chrisitan Merrill and Kerney Lane, both with 10 points.
“Intensity”, James Walker Jr. said, reiterating his coach, “Our intensity is what drives our team. We are really big on intensity and defensive stops.”
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