JAMESTOWN, N.D. (JimmieAthletics.com) – For 23 minutes and 55 seconds, the Jimmie men’s basketball team was unable to get much separation from a scrappy Trinity Bible College squad.
However, a 27-0 second half run turned a seven-point game into a 34-point cushion, and Jamestown rolled to an 86-47 win over the Lions Tuesday night at Harold Newman Arena.
Jon Purintun scored to put UJ up 2-0 11 seconds into the contest, but Trinity Bible used a 7-0 run to take a five-point lead. The Lions led for nearly six-and-a-half mintues until a Sam Johnson three-pointer gave the Jimmies a 15-14 lead with 12:19 in the half.
An Avery Parrish three-pointer for TBC put UJ down 24-20 with 8:15 remaining, and following a Jimmie turnover on their next possession, head coach Danny Neville went to the bench for a full line change. The lineup of Jace Allard, Jack Talley , Ben Weisbeck, Stefan Jevdjenijevic, and Brady Birch scored 10 straight points to give UJ a 30-24 lead, and with a few more bench substitutions, Jamestown took a 37-32 lead into halftime.
Leighton Sampson made one of two foul shots to make the score 43-35 Jamestown, with 17:11 in the game. Zach Marengo’s free throw at 16:05 cut the lead to 43-36. That’s when the Jimmies took charge.
A Kevin Oberweiser three-ball at 15:19 stretched the lead to 10, and was the catalyst of a 27-0 run that lasted seven minutes and 28 seconds. By the time Parker Stemen made the Lion’s next basket, Jamestown led by 32 points and had taken TBC completely out of the game.
Sampson led the Jimmies (17-7) with 15 points. Purintun had 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting and had three steals. Weisbeck was also in double figures with 10 points off the bench. Christian Kvilvang pulled down six boards while Jack Talley filled the stat sheet with six points, five assists, and four rebounds. Jamestown shot 51.4 percent overall, but just 25 percent (8 of 32) from three point range.
Marengo and Parrish each had 10 points to lead the Lions, who shot 31.6 percent from the field and committed 19 turnovers.
Rebounds were 49-26 in favor of the Jimmies, who turned the ball over 15 times. UJ also had a 21-6 edge in points off turnovers and got 42 points from their bench, compared to 12 for Trinity Bible.
Jamestown is back in conference play with a road game at Dickinson State (N.D.) University Thursday. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. Central.