Jackson Christian High School boys basketball team runs all over Burr Oak

By RJ Walters / For the Jackson Citizen Patriot

It was essentially a glorified practice for the division champion Jackson Christian Royals Friday.

In what amounted to layup drills and the three-man weave at times, the Royals rolled past Burr Oak 77-38 to improve to 12-7 overall and 10-4 in the SCAA Central.

With seniors Patrick Robey and Spenser Hunt sidelined by injuries, six Royals scored at least nine points, led by sophomore Seth Kintigh who burst off the bench for 14 points, 11 steals and six assists.

“It gave me a chance to play a variety of guys in different spots together,” Jackson Christian head coach Bob Stanton said. “And guys who have been practicing hard had a chance to get some minutes.

The Royals shot 59 percent from the field and had 15 assists as a team, while forcing 27 Bobcat turnovers.

Jackson Christian came out sluggish, spotting Burr Oak a quick 7-0 lead, but a 28-4 run left nothing in doubt and the running clock was in place midway through the third quarter.

Blake Williams and Ethan Anderson were too much for the Bobcats to handle down low, tallying 10 points and seven boards and 10 points and six boards respectively.

Riley Desnoyer added 11 points and three assists and Sam Parham was good for 12 points and four boards.

Burr Oak (3-14, 0-13) struggled to run its offense in half-court sets and put passes right into the heart of the Royals’ defense, but they had a few things working for them before the final buzzer.

Cody Middaugh had 13 points and four rebounds, while Michael Giggy added 12 points.

For Stanton’s squad it was a tune-up for things to come. The Royals finish out the regular season with Leslie next Thursday before hosting districts the following week.

Robey and Hunt will be ready to go according to Stanton and he thinks his team is prepared for a possible finals showdown with Lenawee Christian.

“We want to just keep working on the team play and just come together as 10 guys,” he said. “Our practices have been really good for a few weeks, and it’s great to have districts at home and have the home-court advantage. I’m looking forward to playing whoever we’ll play.”