Big game, big emotions: Early-season battle for Jackson, Green boys basketball teams

GREEN — Big high school basketball games typically don't happen two weeks before Christmas.

The stakes and emotions always seem to be high when the Green and Jackson boys meet up, and Friday took on special meaning — beyond winning and losing — for Polar Bears coach Tim Debevec.

Jackson outlasted host Green for a 70-65 win Friday in the Federal League opener for last year's two league co-champions. It also served as a rematch of last year's district semifinal, won 53-38 by the Polar Bears.

"I didn't get to take part in that one," Debevec said, fighting off tears. "It was special to take part in this one."

Debevec missed last year's district semifinal and the ensuing district final loss to Stow because his daughter Chelsea was fighting for her life after suffering a pulmonary embolism.

A lacrosse player at Ohio State, Chelsea Debevec survived the scare. Although she hasn't been cleared to return to live action because of blood clots, she is back in school and able to train.

Chelsea attended Friday's game, the first of her dad's since last year's health emergency. She watched her dad's smallish but skilled team battle the bigger, brawnier Bulldogs in a typically physical Federal League game that featured a combined 48 free-throw attempts.

"This is year 32 in coaching for me, and it doesn't get easier," said Tim Debevec, in his 13th season as Jackson head coach. "But every night is fun to be a part of this. That's probably partly why I'm emotional. I'm blessed to be a part of Jackson basketball."

Junior wing Kyle Monterrubio scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Polar Bears. He and Anthony Fuline hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to break a 54-54 tie and give Jackson a lead it did not relinquish.

"I think we played with a lot of grit," Monterrubio said. "I think getting up after them and forcing turnovers with our press threw them off a little bit. ... Green probably is the biggest team in the Fed. Knowing we can take them down despite our size disadvantage, that's big."

Fuline, Jackson's lone senior, was crucial in the fourth quarter with eight of his 11 points and a pretty no-look pass to Cameron Weekley for a bucket.

Weekley scored seven of his 17 points in the fourth quarter and gave Green fits off the dribble much of the night. Fellow junior Mitch Finefrock, one of the area's most dangerous 3-point shooters, scored 11 of his 13 points in the first quarter before foul trouble and more attentive Green defense cooled him off.

The Polar Bears (2-1, 1-0) shot 50% from the floor. On the other end, they withstood Green's physicality, challenged shots and limited the damage on the boards to a 36-25 Green advantage.

"I think all the hard work we put in during the offseason paid off," Monterrubio said. "We play basketball year round and we prepare for this game. We look forward to it."

Said Debevec about his team, "Little toughness. Held their composure. Made some free throws down the stretch. I think we grew up tonight. A big step in growing up. It's a fun group to be around. These guys are always in the gym."

On a tough shooting night for Green's Big 3 of Brady Rollyson, Jarrett Taylor and Antonio Martin, Lucas Bitong stepped up in a big way with 20 points. The senior guard made three of his four 3-point attempts. The rest of the Bulldogs were 1-for-11 from behind the arc, including a tough look in the final seconds that could have tied the score after a Jackson turnover.

Green shot 19 of 57 from the floor overall, some of that being good Jackson defense and some of that being Green just missing good looks. Coach Mark Kinsley also stressed some "uncharacteristic" breakdowns defensively.

"Just some blown assignments across the board that you can't do against a very good offensive team like Jackson," Kinsley said. "And we have to do a better job of finishing."

Rollyson scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the  Bulldogs (1-1, 0-1). Taylor added 12 points and 10 rebounds.

It should be noted the Green team of mid-December likely will display much different rhythm and conditioning as the season progresses.

Martin missed all of last season and last summer because of a knee injury suffered late in the 2022 football season.

Rollyson, an Ohio State baseball recruit, had shoulder surgery eat up most of his offseason, then suffered an ankle injury that cost him another month after he was cleared from the shoulder procedure.

Bitong missed two weeks recently because of illness. Martin, Taylor, Samino Manson and the Fortunato brothers, AJ and Anthony, all were part of Green's football team, which made a run to the regional finals this season and cut into their basketball preparation.

It was just last season that Green started 0-2 in league play before battling back to get a piece of the title.

"We're still in our infancy for the season," Kinsley said. "We kind of got a late start. But that's not an excuse. We have to play better and we have to get more consistent."

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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Ohio boys high school basketball: Jackson tops Green in Federal League