By GRAHAM POWELL
Special to The Leader
Jacksonville played as if they had something to prove to their crosstown host North Pulaski Tuesday night. The Red Devils played a high-tempo offense and press defense through the first three quarters, starting and finishing strong and beating the Falcons 73-31 for their first win of the season. Jacksonville (1-1) came into the game looking to bounce back from a nail-biting two-point loss to Mills University Studies.
“We got a long way to go,” said Jacksonville Coach Victor Joyner after the game. “We just tried to work on defense. We had a lot of mental breakdowns against Mills. I didn’t think we played solid defense and that’s what we’ve been working on.”
Jacksonville came out hot as the Red Devils scored the first 17 points of the game. North Pulaski finally got on the board when senior post player Courvoisiea Allen was fouled after a made basket. He hit the following free throw to give the Falcons their first three points of the game.
But the Red Devils finished the first quarter with an impressive 23-8 lead.
“Solid defense,” Joyner said, “just defense, defense, and execution, and being focused. That game against Mills kind of opened some eyes for us.”
Jacksonville played just as tough in the second quarter, using its full-court press to cause turnovers, and the Red Devils capitalized on almost all of the Falcons’ offensive mistakes.
North Pulaski finished the game with 24 turnovers, with 15 of those coming in the first half. Jacksonville held a commanding 41-13 lead at halftime, and came out in the second half just as aggressive defensively. The Red Devils continued to press through the majority of the third quarter and held a 62-25 lead going into the fourth.
“I wanted us to be aggressive,” Joyner said of his defense. “I didn’t care what happened earlier in the game. I think the best way to teach a team how to move its feet, and get up and press is to make them run and that’s what we were trying to do.”
Every one of Jacksonville’s starting five looked impressive on both sides of the court. Senior post player Xavier Huskey led the Red Devils with 14 points. He also had six rebounds and a steal.
Junior point guard Justin McCleary finished with 12 points, three steals and an assist. Senior guard Dewayne Waller had 10 points, three steals, two rebounds and one assist.
“I think in the first half the pressure kind of got to us,” said North Pulaski coach Roy Jackson. “They had a good game plan of putting pressure on our guards. We’ve been trying to get our guards ready. They’re kind of inexperienced in their spots. A lot of the guys are getting their first year of playing the many minutes at the varsity level.”
Having to deal with a tough, veteran Jacksonville team, North Pulaski couldn’t get things going offensively.
“We just had a rough second half,” Jackson said. “The times we did break the press, we just couldn’t get a score behind it. They got a good team, veteran team, guys that have been playing a while over there.
“I challenged my guys at halftime, in the second half they came out and they competed hard. That’s what I was looking for. I wasn’t worried about the score. I wondered can we compete, and can we continue to do the things we need to do to get better day-by-day.”
Junior guard Eric Mouton and senior post player Jamalin Nash led the Falcons with 6 points each.
Allen had five points and four rebounds. Senior post player Jeremiah Hollis had four points and seven rebounds.
