The Jacksonville Jam (28-8) came into Thursday night's game vs the Orlando Aces (9-19) knowing what was at stake! The Jam needed a victory and an impressive victory to move up in the ABA Power Rankings, and that is exactly what they got while playing on the road at Flagler College in St. Augustine.
The Jam and Aces have battled all season long from the first game of the season, which the Jam won on a shot at the buzzer 124-121, and nearly all of their games have been close ones all during this season. In the first half on Thursday night, that script held sound as the Aces battled the Jam on every possession. Jacksonville controlled the game early on in the opening period and opened up a 14 point lead, but Orlando battled back near the end of the first quarter and on into the second quarter and cut the Jam lead to 48-42 with only seconds remaining in the first half, but veteran Jam center, Tony Holley hit a 16 foot jumper as the first half closed to put the Jam up 50-42 at half-time.
The Aces led by ABA All-Star, Alex Hill opened the second half on a 13-5 run to tie the score at the 7:30 mark of the third quarter at 55-55. From that point, the Jam went on a 12-0 run to take control of the game. Antonio "Red" Lawrence started the run with a 3 pointer and Jerry Williams followed up with another 3. A steal by Bobby St. Preux, which led to another Williams basket put the Jam clear of Orlando, and the Jam were up 67-55 when Orlando finally called time-out. Jacksonville extended its lead to 24 points as the third quarter came to a close, and in the final period of play the Jam became stronger and dominant . In one stretch the Jam hit four consecutive 3's to open up a 39 point lead with 4:26 to play in the game. From there the Jam cleared the bench and cruised to a 125-95 victory. The Jam once again had a big second half scoring 75 points in the second half and 43 points in the final quarter of play!
"We have a lot of respect for Orlando, for they've played us some close games this season, especially on the road! Alex Hill is one of the best young talents that I've seen in pro basketball in a long time, and he always plays great against us, and truly inspires his teammates!" states Jam head coach, Steve Tucker.
Jacksonville was led in scoring by their ABA All-Star forward, Jerry Williams with 27 points, and Williams also pulled down 8 rebounds. St. Preux scored 21 points for the Jam. Lawrence added 13 points. Anthony Lumpkin, Anthony Hatcher, and DeRon Rutledge chipped in 12 points each. Ray Rose scored 10 points and had 6 assist for the Jam. Nick Wallery had 9 points and 12 rebounds, and Holley came off the Jam bench to pull down 9 rebounds, while playing stellar defense inside for Jacksonville. Hill led Orlando with 27 points.
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