MANDAN – Free throws in the last seconds for the girls and an early second half run for the boys gave Mandan a doubleheader sweep over Jamestown Blue Jays Basketball Monday at Mandan High School’s Starion Bank Gymnasium. The Mandan girls came from an 11-point second half deficit to edge Jamestown 52-50, then the Braves boys defeated the Blue Jays 83-67.
Girls: Mandan 52, Jamestown 50
Kimi McAllister hit two free throws for the winning points for Mandan (5-0, 2-0 WDA) with 1.9 seconds left. McAllister was fouled by Jamestown’s Macie Neumiller while trying to hurl a desperation three-pointer from the back court. Three seconds earlier, Neumiller split two free throws after being fouled by McAllister to tie the game at 50-50 for the Blue Jays (2-3, 0-2).
McAllister hit the first two free throws, then missed the third. Haley Attleson rebounded and Jamestown called a time out with 1.2 seconds left. Mandan’s AnnaClaire Bugbee then knocked down the inbound pass to seal the victory.
McAllister led Mandan with 25 points, 23 of which came in the second half. Neumiller and Mea Ulland each scored 13 for Jamestown.
With the help of three three-pointers by Ulland, Jamestown led 28-21 at halftime, then led 39-28 early in the second half before a 13-2 run returned the lead to Mandan.
Boys: Mandan 83, Jamestown 67
Carson Shimek and Brylee Bearstail combined for 39 points and Mandan (4-1, 1-1 WDA) used scorching shooting in the first eight minutes of the second half for a big run.
Jamestown (2-3, 0-2) trailed by 11 in the first half before Abel Dolokelen hit a layup with 1:58 left in the first half to end a 13-0 run and give the Blue Jays a 33-31 lead. Jamestown led 36-35 at halftime.
Edison Walters hit the first bucket of the second half and Jamestown had their longest lead of the game at 38-35. That’s when Mandan got hot. In a span of just under three and a half minutes, the Braves scored 16 points in a row and stretched the run to 24-5 while hitting their first 10 shots of the second half. They never trailed again by less than 12 points.
Shimek scored 20, including 13 in the second half, for Mandan. Bearstail tallied 19. Walters scored 29, his second-highest point total this season, for Jamestown. Eric Van Berkom added 14.
The Blue Jays will next play in Bismarck against St. Mary’s on Friday, January 2. Coverage will begin at around 5:30 PM on The Voice of the Blue Jays, Jamestown 107.1.