Jarvis Tolbert leads Adams boys basketball in 53-48 NIC upset victory at Washington
SOUTH BEND – When Chad Johnston talked at his old school Tuesday night, his young Adams Eagles listened.
Trailing his old school South Bend Washington, now coached by his former assistant Ryan Varga, the nephew of Indiana Hall of Fame coach Tom DeBaets, the 1994 Clay miracle worker who just so happened to coach Johnston and was at the Great Western Forum for Tuesday’s Northern Indiana Conference battle, Johnston had a simple message for his Eagles heading into the final eight minutes.
“I wanted them to do a much better job with their shot selection and defensively we wanted to limit them to one shot,” Johnston said.
His Eagles did just that, overcoming a five-point deficit by outscoring the Panthers by 10 points for a 53-48 victory which ended a six-game losing streak.
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Sophomore Jarvis Tolbert, a 6-foot-2 forward, scored a game-high 22 points, grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds and was a thorn in the side of Washington’s 6-foot-5 sophomore standout Stephen Reynolds, who still managed a double-double of 13 rebounds and 15 points which came on 4-of-16 shooting with Tolbert guarding him.
“I wanted to get into his head and force him to make bad shots,” Tolbert said.
Mission accomplished.
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“Jarvis is pretty good for a sophomore,” the nearly hoarse Johnston chuckled. “He’s really coachable. He listens and is just coming into his own. He has a lot to work on, but I’m really happy with his growth and development since his freshman year.”
Tolbert hit 8-of-19 shots, three from long distance including a deep 3-pointer from the wing that gave the Eagles (5-7 overall, 3-1 NIC) the lead for good at 49-47 with just under two minutes to play. It was part of a 7-1 run that sealed the victory. Senior Gerron Barr scored 13 points before fouling out and classmate Amari Wesson had 10 points, including the final free-throw dagger with 13 seconds remaining.
Senior Donovan Johnson paced Washington (7-4 overall, 5-1 NIC) with 20 points to finish in double figures with Reynolds. Adams limited Washington’s talented freshman Da’Kori Parker, who was averaging 16.8 points a game coming in, to just eight. Though the Panthers forced 19 Adams turnovers with their quickness, the Eagles overcame those mistakes by dominating the boards 47-27. It also didn’t help that Washington, playing for the first time in 12 games because of the wintry weather of late, shot just 29.5 percent (13 of 44) from the field.
The Eagles, who led 13-12 after the first quarter and 26-22 at the half, were outscored 21-12 in the third quarter by the Panthers, who hit 10 of 14 free throws while grabbing a 43-38 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Parker’s basket to start the final quarter gave Washington its biggest lead of the night, 45-38, before the Eagles mounted their comeback.
“We ran out of gas down the stretch,” Varga said. “We didn’t hit free throws, and we didn’t rebound. We just did not finish them out. Credit them, they played good defense, but I think we gave one away. I thought when we got up seven we were going to close them away.
“This was (Adams’) Super Bowl,” Varga added. “At the end of the day, you have to tip your hat to them and congratulate them. We’re already thinking about Jimtown.”
Washington has a quick turnaround, visiting Jimtown Thursday for an NIC game before busing to Valparaiso Saturday night. Adams returns to action Friday with a non-conference home game against Michigan City Marquette Catholic.
SOUTH BEND WASHINGTON 53, SOUTH BEND ADAMS 48
At Great Western Forum, Washington H.S., South Bend
SOUTH BEND ADAMS (53): Jarvis Tolbert 22, Amari Wesson 10, Gerron Barr 13, KJ Johnston 0, David Hayo 2, Lemonz Jones 6, Mikey Barr 0, TOTALS 21 6-14 53.
SOUTH BEND WASHINGTON (48): Steven Reynolds 15, Da’Kori Parker 8, Donovan Johnson 20, Josh Johnson 3, Lavier Smith 0, Jayden Lineberry 2, Mike Stuckey 0, TOTALS 13 18-29 48.
Adams | 13 | 26 | 38 | 53
Washington | 12 | 22 | 43 | 48
3-point goals: Adams 5 (Tolbert 3, Gerron Barr 1, Wesson 1), Washington 4 (Reynolds 2, Donovan Johnson 1, Josh Johnson 1).
Shooting: Adams 21 of 53 for 39.6 percent, Washington 13 of 44 for 29.5 percent.
Rebounds: Adams 47 (Tolbert 14, Wesson 8, Jones 8), Washington 29 (Reynolds 13).
Turnovers: Adams 19, Washington 11.
Total fouls (fouled out): Adams 21 (Gerron Barr, Jones), Washington 17 (none).
Records: Adams 5-7, 3-1 Northern Indiana Conference; Washington 7-4, 5-1 Northern Indiana Conference.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend Adams beats Washington in NIC boys basketball
