THE OTHER J

by Derek Toney

Like Douglass and Mervo, Walbrook High found out Thursday how good the Digital Harbor backcourt of George and Justin Jackson is. Jermaine Edwards isn’t bad either.

While the Jacksons have headlined the Rams’ start, Edwards has quietly been the glue. His 16 points and eight rebounds aided No. 16 Digital Harbor to a 66-54 victory over the fourth-ranked Warriors in a Baltimore City boys’ basketball non-divisional contest.

Sophomore Justin Jackson led the Rams (4-0) with a game-high 28 points. Roscoe Smith scored 16 points and junior Dashion Knight contributed 15 for Walbrook (4-3), which lost for the second consecutive season to the south Baltimore school.

Digital Harbor viewed last season’s victory as a turning point. The latest triumph completed a five-day period in which the Rams defeated Top 10 teams in Douglass (then No. 8 Saturday), No. 5 Mervo Tuesday and the Warriors.

“We just want to play basketball,” said Rams coach Johnny Grimes. “We come out with that sense of urgency and we don’t want to lose.”

“The wins are good, but we still have a lot of hard work to do,” said Edwards. “We’re not done trying proving our point in the city. Until we get to states, then we can look back on our season.”

Edwards, a six foot, four inch sophomore forward did a solid defensively Thursday on Smith, a 6-7 sophomore who managed just two field goals. Grimes said Edwards doesn’t mind doing the dirty work.

“If he’s not scoring, he’s going to defend,” said Grimes. “He’s going to block shots, dive on the floor, he just wants to win. He plays off intensity.”

Trailing early, Digital Harbor amped its defensive pressure, closing the first half with a 22-8 run to take a 28-23 halftime lead with Justin Jackson scoring the final 10 points. Edwards’ three-point play set up by an offensive rebound by George Jackson (seven points) gave the Rams a 39-27 advantage midway in the third quarter.

Smith (12-of-12 free throws) brought the Warriors within 50-47 on a pair of free throws with two minutes, 47 seconds remaining in regulation, but a Justin Jackson three-pointer from about a foot behind the top of the key pushed the lead to 55-48. Edwards followed with offensive rebound and basket, and Walbrook got no closer than seven points.

“Justin and George are probably the toughest backcourt tandem in the state of Maryland. They make the ball game easier for the rest of the players on their team,” said Walbrook coach Kelvin Bridgers. “Edwards is a tremendously athletic kid and his greatest asset is he doesn’t try to do too much out of his character.”

“We got a lot of good players starting and coming off the bench for us,” said Edwards, whose team received 13 points from Gary Brannon. “When teams are thinking about George and Justin, it takes the weight off us. We just play our roles, I’m not really concern that they [opponents] don’t know me.”

Digital Harbor heads to the Chick-fil-a Touranment at Winston Churchill in Montgomery County next week where they could meet up with No. 8 Lake Clifton. The Rams say they’re taking their early season success in stride.

“What a week,” said Grimes. “We’re going to take it one game at a time and continue working hard. This is a nice Christmas present.”

Digital Harbor 66, Walbrook 54
Digital Harbor: Edwards 16, Johnson 2, Yancey 1, J. Jackson 28, G. Jackson 7, Brannon 13. Totals 21 17-18 66.
Walbrook: Stuckey 11, Knight 15, Smith 16, Briscoe 2, Johnson 10. Totals 14 22-24 54. Halftime: Digital Harbor 28, Walbrook 23.

Digital Harbor 9 19 14 24-66
Walbrook 15 8 14 17-54