PLANO – There wasn’t any mystery as to how the Ottawa Pirates’ Thursday opponent, Chicago Longwood, would compete during the fifth-place game at the 58th annual Plano Christmas Classic.
All the Panthers know is fast and faster.
No. 4-seeded Longwood sped things up to the tune of a 56-48 victory over the No. 6 Pirates on Thursday at Reaper Gymnasium, as the locals just couldn’t keep up with intense play the Panthers provided.
“We’ll regroup after the new year and make the best of what was seen in the first half of the season moving ahead into next year.”
— Ottawa boys basketball coach Mark Cooper
That included a game-high 26 points as well as six rebounds and five steals from Longwood all-state senior candidate Terrance Jones, as the Panthers extended a two-point lead at halftime and never looked back.
“[Jones] is really good, and we had a stretch in the third quarter where we turned the ball over too many times and allowed them to stretch the lead out,” Ottawa veteran coach Mark Cooper said. “They hit a couple of 3s, and then being down by eight or 10 going into the fourth quarter against them really became a difficult chase against a team of that caliber of talent.
“In the end, we gave ourselves an opportunity to win. But ultimately, their pressure didn’t allow us to get a rally going after falling behind by double digits in the second half.”
Ottawa (8-5) got identical 16-point and nine-rebound outputs from seniors Luke Cushing – like Jones, an all-tournament selection – and Braiden Miller.
But those efforts weren’t enough to combat Longwood’s athleticism, speed and the play of Jones, along with 13 points and four 3-pointers from junior guard Jayden Smalls.
“I said it after our first win here on Monday that Terrance Jones is one of the best small-school players in the state of Illinois, and he showed it once again tonight against a very good team from Ottawa,” Longwood coach Keyon Smothers said. “To do what he has done here against the finest of competition is amazing, and I’m very proud of him and the rest our team.
“This was our first time competing at Plano, and I can’t thank the administration here [enough] for letting us compete in a great tournament. It’s a different brand of basketball than we normally see in the Chicago Public League, but as a result of competing here, I know it will make us a much better basketball team moving forward.”
Ottawa led 13-10 after one quarter, as Miller and junior Levi Sheehan netted buckets after scrambles under the net. But Smalls nailed a pair of 3-pointers, and JaMaari Greene added a 3 late in the second quarter to give Longwood a 25-23 lead at halftime.
Jones came unglued in the third period with 11 points including a right-wing 3 with 35 seconds to play in the quarter to help put the Panthers ahead 42-33.
From there, Ottawa could never get any closer than the eight points when Cushing drained a step-back 3 with 1:15 to go that cut the gap to 54-46. Jones added seven points in the final quarter to seal the deal for Longwood.
“Overall, there are a lot of positives that came from this week at Plano,” Cooper said. “We did some good things even though we lost tonight.
“We’ll regroup after the new year and make the best of what was seen in the first half of the season moving ahead into next year.”