Herald-Sun correspondent
DURHAM — THE SHOT.
Jordan staged an unexpected 75-57 blowout of Southern High on Friday night, but everyone at Jordan was talking about The Shot by the Falcons’ Mike Lee.
The phenomenal buzzer beater to end the third period was a stunner to everyone in the gym but Lee. Lee was at least 12-feet behind the mid-court stripe when he launched the three-pointer at the buzzer. It seemed so effortless, with the ball arcing purposely through the air and barely touching a cord as it descended through the net, that Spartans coach Art Richmond argued, unsuccessfully, with the referee that the ball didn’t actually go into the basket.
“Not really,” Lee said when asked if he was surprised the ball went in. “I got another one earlier this year against Wake Forest Rolesville. I practice it.”
“Yeah, right,” teammate Marvin Flowers playfully chided. “I taught him that shot.”
Here’s Lee’s play-by-play description of the nearly end-to-end shot after he got the inbound pass:
“I knew the time was running short, so I took two short dribbles like my coach says and went up,” putting some extra “oomph” on the shot. “The crowd got a little hyper,” he said in the understatement of the night.
“He got a good look and obviously made a great shot,” Falcons coach Kim Annas said of Lee’s second 3-pointer in the third period.
Jordan had little trouble with their cross-town rivals, leading by as many as 23 points at 3:07 of the final period. The closest the Spartans came after the first 14 seconds into the second period was 6 points with 5:20 remaining in the third period. But Jordan then went on an unanswered 9-point spree to go up 46-31 and didn’t relinquish the double-digit lead the rest of the game.
Annas wouldn’t say if he was expecting the romp.
“I was expecting that kind of effort from our team,” Annas said. “Southern is very athletic. They’re a tough team to beat.”
The win was Jordan's fifth straight in PAC-6 play after an 0-4 start. The Falcons have actually won six straight against league teams but one was in a holiday tournament and doesn't count in the standings. Remarkably, Jordan (10-10, 5-4) is now tied with Northern for third place, one game behind Hillside and two behind first-place Roxboro Person.
Spartans point guard Evan Collins demonstrated his patented walking on air athleticism, repeatedly driving the lanes and floating to the basket for a game high 24 points. He was the only Southern (6-12, 2-7) player in double figures.
Jordan was led by Darien Ortiz with 19, including three 3-pointers. Flowers (18) and Phil Williamson (16) also were in double figures. Williamson got the crowd buzzing at 4:38 of the final period when he drove downcourt and slam-dunked the ball to put the Falcons up 69-50.
The Falcons’ play under the basket was a decisive factor in the outcome.
“We felt like we had the advantage inside with our big guys. We got high percentage shots and drew some fouls,” Annas said. That opened Southern’s defense for more outside jump shots.
Jordan’s defense swarmed Southern most of the night, punctuated by 6-foot-7 Jared Hendryx’ thunderous rejection of a shot attempt by the Spartans’ Jerrick Richmond.
In the girls game, Southern (16-2, 7-2 PAC-6) downed Jordan 59-48. They used a balanced scoring attack that featured four players in double digits, led by Sydni-Kym Dobson with a game high 14.
“When you have a team that’s balanced scoring, it’s hard to beat a team like that,” said Southern coach Kendrick Hall. “That’s the way we would like it. The more people getting the ball and scoring the better for the team.”
Southern led 34-15 at the half, but that 19-point lead evaporated and was narrowed to a couple of buckets late in the final period before Southern opened it back up.
“They made a little run there,” Hall said. “Jordan’s a good team.”
The Lady Falcons are 11-9 overall and 5-4 and fourth in the PAC-6.
Hillside leads the girls' PAC-6 race at 8-0.
BOYS' GAME
Jordan 75, Southern 57
SOUTHERN—Evan Collins 24, Lee Harley 8, Dameon Pounds 7, Reggie Prince 5, Jerrick Richmond 5, Dorian Belcher 4, Tyran Cameron 2, Isaiah Maurice 2.
JORDAN—Darien Ortiz 19, Marvin Flowers 18, Phil Williamson 16, Mike Lee 8, John Brown 8, Jared Hendryx 6.
Southern|10|16|15|16—57
Jordan|17|15|26|17—75
Records—Southern 6-12, 2-7 PAC-6 4-A; Jordan 10-10, 5-4 PAC-6
GIRLS' GAME
Southern 59, Jordan 48
SOUTHERN—Sydni-Kym Dobson 14, Re’gene Watson 13, Unique Mayo 12, Jade Bracey 11, Chandrica Fuller 5, Janetta Hunt 2.
JORDAN—-Bayley Coleman-Cox 10, Salita Greene 10, Taylor Torres 9, Rachel McGirt 6, Tabatha Morgan 4, Millicent Blivin 3.
Southern|16|18|14|11—59
Jordan|11|4|17|16—48
Records Southern 16-2, 7-2 PAC-6 4-A; Jordan 11-9, 5-4 PAC-6.
