Mortimer Jordan sweeps Dora in non-area play

Published 11:29 am Saturday, January 13, 2018

GIRLS: Mortimer Jordan 58, Dora 53

Blue Devils’ second-year head coach Kelly Robinson got exactly what he was looking for on Friday afternoon in a home win over Dora. 

He tinkered with his starting five, fielding a young lineup that included freshmen Reese Colburn and Madeline Snow, sophomore Mackynzie Watson, junior Jadyn Allen and senior Skylar Bluemly. 

“The ones that needed to respond responded, so I was pleased with that,” said Robinson. “Aaliyah Harper, she was one of the ones that we were looking for more energy from and she responded.”

Harper checked into the game with Mortimer Jordan down 11-4 midway through the opening quarter, and she immediately made an impact. She went to the right wing for her only 3-pointer of the game and went on to finish with 14 points for the home team. 

Robinson also praised the play of point guard Jadyn Allen, who went home with nine points. 

“She is a coach on the floor. She’ll tell me things a lot of the time and I’m like ‘that’s a pretty good idea, let’s do that,’” said Robinson. 

The junior converted seven of her eight free-throw opportunities and dished out several assists throughout the game. She ripped the ball free late in the first half and ran to the other end for a pair of free throws that pulled the Blue Devils to within one point after trailing by as much as eight early on. 

Mortimer Jordan claimed its first lead of the game about one minute later when Snow got out in transition for an open lay-in. That bucket put her team on top 23-22 with 1:40 remaining in the second frame. 

The Blue Devils later went to the half with a 27-26 lead. They led 44-40 through three quarters of play and began pulling away midway through the fourth quarter. 

Watson shook free on an inbound play and connected on her fourth 3-pointer of the contest, giving her girls a 52-43 cushion with 3:40 reming in the game. She came back down for four more points in the paint to increase her point total to 18 and put the game out of reach. 

“Mackynzie Watson is just now starting to get healthy again and trusting her foot from that injury. Her last two games have been outstanding as far as loose balls and just the dirty work,” said Robinson.

Mortimer Jordan visits Corner next Tuesday in Class 5A, Area 11 play.


BOYS: Mortimer Jordan 53, Dora 46

Mortimer Jordan had to find a way on Friday afternoon without its best player on the floor.

Senior point guard Justin Anderson scored his final points at the 4:10 mark of the second quarter. He buried a shot from about 23 feet out to give the Blue Devils a 26-12 lead over Dora in front of a raucous home crowd.

That would be his final bucket of the contest. He checked out shortly thereafter with six points to his name and never returned to the floor. Mortimer Jordan head coach Josh Golden does expect his star player to be back in action next Tuesday at Corner.

But without Anderson calling the shots on Friday, Dora clawed back. The Bulldogs made stops and whittled the deficit down to eight points at the half.

The Blue Devils looked to junior Ronnie Wright in the second half. He started the third quarter with a baseline 3-pointer, which seemed to set the tone moving forward. He finished with a team-high 10 points.

Sophomore Nolan Dean was the highlight of an otherwise chilly effort behind the arc. After passing up an open look, which got him benched in the opening quarter, Dean got aggressive in the second. He knocked down three straight 3-pointers, as Mortimer Jordan jumped out to a 23-9 advantage with 4:50 left in the first half.

Dean finished with nine points for the home team. 


Erik Harris is the Sports Editor of The North Jefferson News. Email him at njnsports@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jeharris2.