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| Canton McKinley's Edward Webster closes out at the rim as Mason Morris defends as Anthony Chavers (2) and Jamar Keyes (23) look on. (Photo: Chuck Cordes/Ohsfbmedia.com) |
Canton McKinley boys are the outright Federal League Champions
JACKSON TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- Canton McKinley boys basketball achieved a significant milestone by defeating Massillon Jackson 68-55 on the road, marking the program's 1,998th win.
"We played Canton McKinley basketball," said Weatherspoon. "And we knew it wasnt going to be easy, we fought through it and got the win."
The Bulldogs started the first quarter with momentum after the game was tied 2-2 with 5:23 left, then went on a 9-2 run to take the lead to 11-4 with 2:28 left in the period. With all-around scoring from Ed Webster and a trio of Bulldogs, they would lead 21-8 at quarter's end.
Jackson had to calm down and focus on playing Jackson basketball. In the second quarter, they started to narrow the gap with an 18-point quarter, despite not hitting from behind the 3-point line, going 0 for 10 for the half. Senior Kaiden Loy would push the pace, scoring eight of those second-quarter points with help from teammate Chase Maurer as Jackson's zone defense started throwing the bulldogs off. The quarter would end with McKinley leading 35-26.
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| Kaiden Loy drives against a defending Davey Thompson during the second quarter of the game. (Photo: Chuck Cordes/Ohsfbmedia.com) |
Senior McKinley point guard Davey Thompson would see his first points of the game as he nailed a long 3-point shot at the buzzer.
In the third quarter, this was the only moment Jackson would get close, as the game started to turn into a real battle. As they would get within 1-point off a layup by Carter Muhleman, that would see the score would be 36-37 with just over 3:00 minutes to play in the period. Jamar Keyes would come alive after being in foul trouble in the first half, and Webster continued to play a solid game.
"They was throwing ball screens and slips," explained Webster, who was able to understand what Jackson was throwing at them in the third quarter and continued to be an important piece of the offense.
The Bulldogs still didn't have an answer for the quick Loy and Maurer as they would dominate from the field and keep the game close as they would just trail by one heading into the fourth quarter, 45-44.
With solid substitutions, Canton McKinley would let the hot scoring of Keyes dominate the last period, and again, Webster, who played solid down the stretch. The duo would combine for 20 points in the latter part of the game.
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| Jamar Keyes celebrates as the momentum began going the Bulldogs way. Keyes' second half helped propel the pups to victory. (Photo: Chuck Cordes/Ohsfbmedia.com) |
Kaiden Loy, who finished the game with 18 points, and Maurer were not enough as McKinley would stay undefeated in league play and move to 15-3 for the season, and headed in a turnaround game against Harvest Prep.
"It feels good the Federal League is tough, Canton McKinley's been in it what, 21 years, and only winning it six times shows you how tough it is," said Weatherspoon. Speaking about being undefeated in the Federal League.
Jackson falls to 11-6 on the season and gets a small break before traveling to Green for another Federal League game.
Keyes and Webster both finished with 16, and Davey Thompson with 8.
McKinley JV won 55-50 and improved to 14-3.
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