Jackson Northwest proved with its 64-48 victory over Pinckney that if teams have enough talent, they can walk out of the Pirate ship victorious.
However, you might walk out of the gym with a black eye, bruised knees and some loose teeth. The Pirates are no longer cute and cuddly. They make things difficult with a relentless trapping defense, a willingness to dive for 50-50 balls and doing everything they can to strip people of the ball.
“We are trying to make you feel uncomfortable with our defense,” Pinckney coach Kyle O’Donohue said. “I know they put up a lot of points, but we are trying to make you feel uncomfortable with our extended pressure. And in the half court we are trying to cause havoc.
Pinckney (3-3) has the heart, but the Pirates need more size and talent to beat teams like Northwest. Northwest guard Jalen Jordan was easily the best player in the gym, finishing with 29 points and nine rebounds.
He is a slick ball handler and penetrates the lane with the best of them. He kept Pinckney at bay and launched a 16-2 third quarter run that turned a close game (33-29 Northwest) into a 49-31 route.
Junior guard Jace Carlson paced Pinckney with 20 points. Fellow junior Zander Barbee chipped in 18 points and joined senior Sawyer Gorman in producing sticky defense and extraordinary side hustle.
“We are capable of a lot,” Carlson said. “If we stick together as a team, we can beat anybody who comes in here.”
Pinckney has won just four games in the Southeastern Conference White Division the last two years but believes the program has turned a corner under first-year varsity coach O’Donohue. The Pirates did not win their third game last season until Jan 20 and won just one conference game. Now they are looking for more.
“I think we are going to surprise people,” he said. “Pinckney has been overlooked.”
Pinckney wants to rejoin the winning ranks by playing hard and tough defense.
“That’s the way I grew up in this program,” O’Donohue said. Defense. Boom. Boom. Boom. We kind of got away from that the last five years. I am trying to bring it back.”