RANDY HISNER
WZBD.com
It took only a few minutes to remove any doubt concerning the Adams Central Flying Jets’ readiness to finally open their season Tuesday night at the Hangar. The Jets raced to a 15-4 lead in just over four minutes against Canterbury and kept the gas pedal down until they were up 30-11 at the end of the first quarter.
Though they slowed down a bit in the next three periods, the Jets still led comfortably throughout the game and cruised to a convincing 78-54 victory over the Cavaliers (1-3).
“I think we were the last team in the state to actually play a game, unless I missed somebody,” said Adams Central coach Aaron McClure. “One of our big keys tonight was just to survive the first quarter. I think when you’re playing a team and it’s their fourth game and it’s your first game, you just kind of want to get through that first quarter and not find yourself down seven or down 10. Obviously, we did more than survive the first quarter. It went about as well as it could have.”
The Jets’ season opener was delayed because the school’s football team went all the way to the state championship game. It was further delayed when the planned opener against Canterbury last Saturday had to be postponed because of illness on the Cavalier squad.
Senior star Isaac Schultz had a lot to do with the Jets’ great start. He scored 15 points in the opening period on 6-of-6 shooting from the floor and 3-of-3 from the free throw line. The 6-7 Schultz, one of the most highly regarded players in the area, finished with a game-high 27 points, along with 10 rebounds and six blocks.
Junior Trace Maller provided plenty of help for Schultz, going 3-for-3 on three-pointers in the period.
The Cavaliers regrouped a bit in the second quarter, outscoring the Jets 17-10. “We showed a little resilience,” stated Canterbury coach Deric Adams. Thiran Padmalingam led the Cavs’ attack in the period with eight points.
“You kind of expect that,” McClure noted. “If you’re playing a team that’s just terrible you might get up 19 and just continue to extend that lead, but they’ve got a solid basketball team. Obviously, the Lewis kid is good, Dressler’s good, the Greider kid I thought had a good game. Some of their other guys stepped up in the second quarter and brought them back when they could have just folded.”
“The Lewis kid” is Devon Lewis, a senior who led the Cavs with 16 points. He reached the coveted 1,000-point career milestone with a three-pointer at the 2:29 mark of the third quarter. Coach Adams had high praise for Lewis after the game. “He’s a humble kid, he’s a caring kid,” he said. “He’s a wonderful ambassador for our school, for our program. He not only drives himself incredibly hard; he drives the other guys incredibly hard in a manner which they understand he cares about them.”
Adams Central got back in gear in the third quarter, scoring 22 points to the Cavs’ 13. Five different Jets scored, led by six points from Ryan Tester (on a pair of threes) and five points from Micah McClure. The Jets had a commanding 62-41 lead heading into the final period.
Maller finished with 17 points and six assists for the Jets. McClure led in assists with eight. Kolten Littler scored seven points, and Braylend Reber had six. Reber brought Adams Central fans to their feet midway through the first quarter when he picked off a Canterbury pass, drove three-quarters of the length of the court, and finished with a one-handed slam dunk.
Alden Greider and Reed Hayes each had nine points for the Cavaliers.
Adams Central won the JV contest in overtime, 36-35. Drew Johnson led the team with 14 points, including three in the overtime. Braden Dalrymple added eight, Marcus Bollenbacher six. J.P. Rohwer led Canterbury with nine.
The Flying Jets will open their ACAC season Friday at Woodlan.