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BOYS BAKETBALL: Mt.Clemens Routes Detroit Denby 84-54, Behind A Great Shooting Night For McFolley
DETROIT – Head coach Jermaine Jackson Sr., has turned the Mt.Clemens basketball program into a force to be reckoned with in the state of Michigan. In his first season they went 21-2, making it all the way to the Class C regional final, before falling to eventual champion Flint Beecher.
Jackson has his squad off to another good start so this season, routing Detroit Denby 84-54. This was Mt.Clemens’ second straight win against a Detroit PSL team, and a team in a higher class.
"That means nothing to us, we’re just building," he said. "We’re not worried about what nobody outside of our clubhouse is thinking, we’re just building to get better and better."
And better is what the Battling Bathers have gotten since last season.
They got off to a quick start versus Denby, scoring the first 10 points of the game and never looked back. Junior guard Josh McFolley scored six of those points, knocking down two rainbow 3-pointers, that hit nothing but the net.
Mt.Clemens only led 16-6 after one, but turned it up in the second. The lead swelled to 21-11 with 5:58 left on the clock, and they weren’t done.
A 14-0 run by Mt.Clemens, including two more 3-pointers by McFolley put the game further out of reach at 35-11.
Denby would go on a 10-2 run themselves to close out the half, cut the lead to sixteen at 37-21.
"Basketball is a game of runs," Jackson said. "We had six or seven days off, so it doesn’t matter if you’re up by ten or twenty, my whole thing is about execution."
Jackson must have given his players a heck of a halftime speech about the way they finished the half. Mt.Clemens opened the third on an 11-0 run, capped off by a other 3-pointer by McFolley to make it 48-21 with 5:40 left in the third.
He finished with six altogether, to lead his team in scoring with 22. McFolley is one of the best guards in the state no one speak about.
"That’s what he do," said Jackson of McFolley’s scoring ability. "We have great big men that get him open, and we have great guards that pass him the ball, because he’s a great shooter."
Mt.Clemens has tremendous size, and used it to overpower Denby down low. It’s four bigs combined for 38 points, including 13 points for Tariq Jones, and 11 from Charles Penn.
Denby cut to the lead to 66-48 on a 3-pointer by Jakhal Thompson, but by then the deficit was too much. Thompson was Denby’s lone bright spot, coming off the bench to lead everyone in scoring with 24.
Even with most of its starters on the bench, Mt.Clemens managed to maintain their big lead, and come out with the victory. If they continue to play like this, or better, the Class C state title could be coming to "The Clem".
"Everyone has things they need to work on," Jackson said. "We have a lot of things to work on. So we’re just going to get back in the gym and work and get ready for our game Saturday."
