The Jayton boys basketball team trailed throughout the first half of Monday’s Class 1A Division II state semifinal against Whitharral, but there was no panic.
Jaybirds coach Ryan Bleiker knows he has a second-half team, let alone one with the experience of consecutive state championships.
No. 1 Jayton leaned on its roots — defense, defense, defense — and veteran core to knock off the No. 15 Panthers 41-36 at Frenship Memorial. The Jaybirds advanced to the state final for a fourth straight season, and the seniors at the center of the run played big roles.
Colt Gentry led the way with 15 points, Bode Ham added 14 and Sean Stanaland spearheaded the defense. That trio only knows basketball seasons that end in the Alamodome.
“Ever since I was a freshman, that has been our goal is to win championships,” Stanaland said. “We’ve been holding each other accountable and making sure we all go to the gym, go lift weights, so we can be able to accomplish these goals and tell these stories when we’re older.”
Stanaland netted four points, but his impact was among Jayton’s greatest. The lengthy 6-foot-1 guard drew the assignment of Whitharral star Brent Robinson and passed with flying colors. Robinson led the Panthers with 17.3 points per game and reached 29 two rounds ago in a regional semifinal win over fourth-ranked Texline.
Robinson finished with six points against the Jaybirds, including two in the second half.
“Coach always assigns me to the best point guard of the team, and I’m always up for that challenge,” Stanaland said. “It gives me something to really look forward to on defense. Sometimes, like tonight, I may not have the best offensive scoring game, but I can always show a way to contribute to the team by getting rebounds and getting stops on defense.
“Robinson’s a really, really good point guard. … He has it all. It was a really hard challenge to guard him.”
Robinson gave the Panthers their biggest lead at 15-7 early in the second quarter. Gentry scored six points during a 9-2 finish to the half. His bucket to start the third period gave Jayton its first lead. There were seven lead changes in the quarter, but Gentry’s 3-pointer put the Jaybirds up 29-26 and the team didn’t trail the rest of the way.
“He’s so good at finding little cracks,” Bleiker said, “because he doesn’t need much space, just needs a little crack, little space right there he can get through and score.”
Bleiker said it was reminiscent of Gentry’s performance in the second round. Jayton needed every bit of it in a 47-42 overtime victory over No. 2 Gordon.
“He kind of did the same thing against Gordon when we needed it the most,” Bleiker said. “And I’m so happy for him because he works so hard. All of the kids do, but he really works hard to be so good. I love that it can show up on nights like tonight.”
Nathaniel Sansom scored a game-high 17 points for Whitharral, which became the second team to play the Jaybirds closer than 20 points this postseason. Bleiker welcomed the four-quarter affair ahead of Jayton’s attempt at a three-peat Thursday.
“You can’t replace this,” Bleiker said. “I felt like we had this to close the year with Gruver, Lubbock Christian, Roscoe, (Stinnett) West Texas. We got Gordon in there. You can’t practice this.”
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Jayton seniors head to 4th state championship with win over Whitharral
Reporting by Stephen Garcia, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
