High School Basketball

Jordan earns pivotal win over Taylor as season hits home stretch

By Tyler Tyre, Sports Editor
Posted 2/1/23

“Tonight they fought through mistakes and continued to play good basketball and make plays. It was a game that could have gone either way but our seniors stepped up big. We had really good leadership on the court tonight and I’m really proud of the guys for the way they played.”

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High School Basketball

Jordan earns pivotal win over Taylor as season hits home stretch

Posted

Jordan has experienced growing pains at times this season.

The Warriors have a young team, with both of their backcourt players only sophomores and underclassman at many positions across the court. The Warriros have been able to find success despite this though, as their talent and coaching have prevailed and kept them in the District 19-6A playoff race.

But close, tight knit games had been the Warriors Achilles heel in recent weeks, as they had lost games by just one basket to both Paetow and Seven Lakes and Cinco Ranch while also dropping a close game to Seven Lakes.

The Warriors went to work on figuring out how to fix those growing pains and the teams resilience shown through on Tuesday, as Jordan played a good game against District 19-6A playoff contender Taylor and used a strong fourth quarter to come out 66-54 winners.

“You have to trust those guys and trust that they can fight through those kind of mistakes,” said Jordan head coach Charlie Jones. “Tonight they fought through those mistakes and continued to play good basketball and make plays. It was a game that could have gone either way but guys stepped up big and our seniors stepped up really big. We had really good leadership on the court tonight and I’m really proud of the guys for the way they played tonight.”

Jordan came out and set the tone from the start of the game, with sophomore post Jude Oluokun came right down and scored five quick points early in the game. The Jordan offense was clicking but it was still a Taylor lead after one quarter, as the Mustangs led 16-15 after the first quarter. But the Warriors defense locked down in the second half as they allowed just eight Mustangs points while taking a 34-24 lead into halftime.

“We started off quick and took what we had been doing in practice and brought it into the game,” Oluokun said. "Our offense was great all game, but we really locked in defensively in the second and fourth quarters. We just have to keep doing that.”

Taylor trimmed the gap in the third quarter but Masias Herrera kept the Mustangs at bay as he hit two of his five three pointers in the quarter. Jordan then pulled away down the stretch as they were able to seal the game.

“The team and myself, we had come off a rough two week stretch,” Herrera said. “I had been in a little slump and we had lost a few as a team, so to just be able to get a win like that and see the ball go in the back of the net, it was great. It’s unconditional love over here, this is a family.”

The win was a huge one for Jordan, as it put the Warriors back into a tie for second place in district, in what is a very tight playoff race.

The Warriors are still only one game ahead of fifth place in district and they know that from here on out they have to be at their best in every game and every practice.

“The next game is the big one for us,” Jones said. “There’s no looking forward, we have to take care of what is right in front of us and not focus on the past or what could be in the future. You always know you have a chance to win the one in front of you so that’s our goal is just to take care of the next one.”

District 19-6A

Jordan 66, Taylor 54

Points: (J) Misaias Herrera 18, Elijah Black 11, Isiah Tchokonte 9, Trevor Martz 8, Jude Oluokun 7, Rayan Fadika 7, Rayan Fadika 7, Jaden Holt 5; (T) Aiden Rainey 10, Luke Robbie 8, Reece Hymowitz 8, Jabari Parker 8, Logan Plemons 7, Tiku Arrey 5, Benjamin Agboola 4, Catch Robbie 2;

Halftime: Jordan 34-24; 3-Pointers: (J) Herrera 6, Black, Tchokonte; (T) Plemons, Arrey; Records: Jordan 22-8, 9-4; Taylor: 21-10, 8-4;

Katy ISD, sports, basketball, Jordan, Taylor