C.J. Jennings scores 25 as Sierra boys basketball beats The Classical Academy
COLORADO SPRINGS — When it comes to defensive looks, C.J. Jennings has seen it all. So when The Classical Academy came out in a 2-3 zone with the intent on double-teaming him when he had the ball, it really didn’t phase him all that much.
Jennings scored 25 points in less than three quarters of action as Sierra beat TCA 63-35 on Thursday night.
Sierra’s Class 4A Colorado Springs Metro League winning streak now stands at 36 games. Not that coach Terry Dunn cares.
“Somebody mentioned that to me and I didn’t know the count,” he said. “We coach one game at a time and we play one game at time. I think if you’re fixated on how many you win and how many you lose, I think you lose perspective about who you’re playing the next game.”
So he’s all about staying in the moment. And so is Jennings. After DayShawn Tuck got the Stallions (11-3 overall, 7-0 4A CSML) out to a quick 3-0 lead to start the game, Jennings got going.
He followed up a 3-pointer of his own. He knocked down a short-range jumper to push the lead to 16-3 which is how the first quarter ended.
“I don’t have much to say really,” Titans coach Kevin Wenger said. “We thought we had a good game plan on him. Even trying to double-team him at the start, but we couldn’t keep the ball out of his hands.”
He found his groove in the second quarter as the game began to really get away from the Titans (6-6, 3-3).
He scored 11 points in the quarter, including the final seven for the Stallions.
“When we rush our shots, it’s what they want us to do so they can get back on offense,” Jennings said. “We were patient enough to make the defense work they’ll be openings for an easy layup or an open jumper.”
And as good as Sierra was defensively, they were every bit as good on the defensive side. Senior Erik Cilek came in averaging just under 19 points per game, but didn’t get his first field until close to midway through the second quarter. He was held to eight points on the night.
“If we keep a defense-first mentality, we’ll be very hard to beat,” Jennings said. “Our defense will be able to create for our offense and that’s how we get fast break buckets.”
They didn’t get as many transition points as they wanted, but with the lead growing as fast as it did, they weren’t needed as much.
Jennings was out of the game before the end of the third quarter, but Dunn is always looking for execution to be sharp, regardless of time remaining in the game or score.
“Execution and being able to defend (are important),” Dunn said. “(We can’t) become sloppy with the basketball or with play.”
For Wenger’s squad, it’s focus is to learn from Thursday’s loss and apply it to the remainder of games left on its schedule.
“We talked in the locker room,” he said. “There’s a lot we can learn from this and hopefully moving forward we can learn from some mistakes and learn from some breakdowns and make some corrections and build on them.”
Next up for Sierra is Mesa Ridge, a team that has also yet to lose in Metro League play.
From the second the Stallions entered the locker room after Thursday’s win, Dunn turned the focus to what they needed to do next.
“We’re just trying to get ready for the next,” Dunn said. “We talked briefly about finishing strong and how to take care of the details and small things.”
