Article copied from Jamestown Post Journal (http://www.post-journal.com/sports/local-sports/2017/12/jayhawks-soar/)

Jamestown CC coach George Sisson knew how important it would be for his team to come out at the Jim Riggs Post-Journal Classic men's basketball tournament with a strong first game, and the Jayhawks did exactly that, relying on the hot hand of Chris Robson to push them to a 94-57 win over Westmoreland County CC on Saturday night at the Physical Education Complex.

A strong night of defense throughout the roster provided the backbone for the Jayhawks' (5-6) opening victory, while the freshman from Sherman shot a perfect 5 for 5 from beyond the arc on his way to 17 points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal.

The Jayhawks would finish the night with 20 assists, many of those coming in the form of precision passes to the 6-foot guard.

"Our timing, and we threw him strikes," Sisson said of his team's passing. "He wasn't down here, up there, over there (catching passes), he got strikes so that he could do that in rhythm."

While still reeling from the news that starting forward Williams Overo will be forced to miss time due to a broken foot, the Jayhawks were undeterred by missed baskets to begin the night and began to fall into a groove when David Williams hit Robson in open space for an easy trey.

The crisp outside passing then continued when Tavion King notched an assist on another great pass to Robson to make it 8-4 in the early going.

"It's very disappointing to be out there without Williams (Overo), with a broken foot. I hope that everything works out for him to start playing when we start back second semester. It's going to be four to six weeks,"Sisson said. "The broken foot changes everything. Your depth is gone, you're moving guys out of position, you're asking guys to do something different."

After Williams notched a deuce with a crafty finish following a fast break — he finished with 12 points, five rebounds and three assists — the strong passing continued with a dish from Keshaun Howard to DJ Branch for the finish.

Jamestown CC's chemistry in the early going appeared just as strong on the defensive end, holding the Wolfpack to just 13 points with 8:47 remaining in the half and a first-period total of just 24.

"I thought our defense — 24 points (allowed) in the first half — I love that a ton," Sisson said. "I thought we played hard, I thought defensively … you know we had been doing some things in practice a little more live. You like to run different types of defensive drills and sometimes early in the year you have to learn how to choreograph your defense and your spacing and your movement."

The small tweaks and changes that coaches and players make in practice throughout the early part of the season were certainly evident Saturday for the Jayhawks, who had something unexpected to cheer about when Zachary Kiadii pulled up for a bomb just past midcourt with time expiring that fell flush through the basket to make it 40-24 with one more half to play.

The freshman guard would end his night with four boards, a steal and a team-high four assists.

Williams began the second half with a layup for the Jayhawks and Robson then took it upon himself to return the favor of so many sensational feeds with one of his own to Branch for the finish.

Also getting in on the long-range shooting was Howard, who banged home a trey on his way to 13 points, a team-high seven boards and two assists.

In the end Kenny Pitt would also finish in double figures with 12 points and six boards, as would Germaine Wright with 14.

"It's a good win, and hopefully we'll gain some confidence from doing the little things and grow from it," Sisson said.

Jamestown will now face Community College of Beaver County, which prevailed 104-93 in a track race against Pitt-Titusville earlier Saturday.

"They're bigger than us, but they like to play 94 feet so I'd like to see us handle the pressure and get after it," Sisson said.

NOTES: Jamestown CC finished with 39 rebounds to 34 for the Wolfpack, which was led by Ja'Kory Freeman with 23 points and Joaunn Rivers with 15. … The Jayhawks shot 37 of 68 from the field and will now look to contain Daryl Bones, who finished with 24 points and nine rebounds for CC of Beaver County.

WESTMORELAND COUNTY CC

Carrington 2-12 1-2 5, Mullen 1-3 0-0 2, Rivers 6-10 3-4 15, Freeman 8-17 2-2 23, Williams 1-3 0-0 2, Winchester 1-12 2-3 4, Porter 1-9 0-0 2, DeJesus 0-1 0-0 0, Tyson 0-2 0-0 0, McGrail 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 22-71 8-11 57.

JAMESTOWN CC

Williams 5-9 2-5 12, King 2-7 0-0 4, Branch 3-7 0-0 7, Howard 5-8 2-2 2, Robson 5-6 2-2 1, Kiadii 2-9 0-1 5, Parker 4-6 2-4 10, Davidson 0-0 0-0 0, Wright 5-8 4-4 14, Pitt 6-8 0-0 12. Totals 37-68 12-18 94.

Halftime–Jamestown CC 40, Westmoreland County CC 24. 3-point goals–Westmoreland County CC 5-31 (Carrington 0-3, Mullen 0-1, Freeman 5-11, Winchester 0-8, Porter 0-5, DeJesus 0-1, Tyson 0-2), Jamestown CC 12-19 (Williams 0-1, King 0-1, Branch 1-2, Howard 1-3, Robson 5-5, Kiadii 1-3, Parker 0-1, Wright 0-2). Rebounds–Westmoreland County CC 34 (Carrington 10), Jamestown CC 39 (Howard 7). Assists–Westmoreland County CC 8 (Winchester 2, Porter 2), Jamestown CC 20 (Kiadii 4). Total fouls–Westmoreland County CC 19, Jamestown CC 13.