Matthew Lounsberry mlounsberry@hillsdale.net mlounsberryHDN

JONESVILLE Quincy and Jonesville met in the opening game of District 67 on Monday night, and both teams point guards put on an absolute show.

Comet senior Jake Wilson finished with 33 points, seven rebounds and four steals, while Oriole senior Nathan Karney scored 35 points to lead Quincy to a 64-53 win.

Our kids didnt fold. We battled and battled and battled. Everything we could do, said Jonesville coach Kirk Wright.

The Comets got off to a quick 8-2 start, and closed the opening quarter with a 18-12 lead. Wilson scored 10 in the frame.

First quarter, we came out and executed our gameplan to perfection, Wright said. [Quincy] runs through [freshman William] Dunn a lot, so we thought we matched up. Hes taller than us, but were more physical. I thought we could match up with that and take it away.

With Jonesvilles defensive focus on Dunn, the 67 freshman center for Quincy, Karney took matters into his own hands in the for the Orioles. The senior scored 22 points in the second quarter alone, giving him 27 by halftime.

Quincy led 38-27 at the break, after scoring the Comets 26-9 in the frame.

Karneys the best player in the league for a reason. He literally took the game over, Wright said.

In the second half, Jonesville made an adjustment defensively, having Wilson guard Karney. In addition to that responsibility, Wilson added to his 17 halftime points with 10 more in the third quarter.

Refuses to lose. He does not want to get beat in anything he does, Wright said. He carried us, especially in the second half. He was just going to out-duel Karney. Jakes an unbelievable kid, unbelievable athlete. He doesnt want to lose.

With Wilsons effort, and a big steal and layup from fellow senior Adam Swope, Jonesville cut their deficit to 43-40 with 1:53 left in the third.

It was huge. I told the kids, Lets win the quarter. We were down 11 at half, we had to win the quarter, cut it down to six or seven. We did that, Wright said.

Trailing 49-43 entering the fourth quarter, the Comets got as close as four points early in the frame, but the Orioles went on an 8-2 run to stretch their lead back to 10.

Jonesville couldnt recover, and when Wilson fouled out with under two minutes remaining, any chance of a miracle comeback went out the window.

We kept punching. Give Quincy credit though, they hit the shots when they had to, Wright said.

In addition to Wilson and Swope, the Comets will lose Matt Wieringa, Mitchell Beatty, Dalton Reister and Zach Welton to graduation.

All six seniors meant so much to this team, Wright said. They come in, we changed everything this year, and they bought in to me. Were going to miss them. Theyre a huge part of our rotation.

Swope finished with six points and two steals. Welton added two points, four rebounds and three assists.

Wright finishes his first season at the helm of the Comet program with an 11-10 record.

I loved it. Ive never done a varsity gig. The time-commitment is unbelievable, but the kids make it fun everyday. I hate going out this way, but we improved throughout the year, he said.

All year long, our team just gelled. They bought in. I had the best 12 kids there are.

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Wilson shines but Comets fall short against Quincy - The Hillsdale Daily News