BG’s Ryan Jackson, middle, celebrates with teammates after making the game winning basket.
J.D. Pooley | Sentinel-Tribune
HOLLAND — Bowling Green 6-foot-2 senior guard Ryan Jackson is first team All-Northern Lakes League, placing him among the top six players in the league.
When Jackson had to come up big in a close contest at Springfield Friday, he did so.
Jackson grabbed a long offensive rebound on a missed trey and scored on an eight-foot buzzer-beater putback to give BG a 61-59 victory over the Blue Devils.
There was a delayed crowd reaction because many in attendance thought his shot was too late, but when the official gave confirmation, the Bobcats’ celebration was on.
“I saw him put the hand down and we all ran onto the court because I wasn’t going to let him overturn it,” BG coach Mason Roth said.
Jackson said the first team all-league vote is nothing compared to seeing his team win a tight game.
“I’m thinking about playing. I’m with my team there having fun,” Jackson said. “I’m proud of those awards but that doesn’t really mean anything to me because our team is on a roll right now.”
Jackson scored a game-high 21 points, had eight rebounds and two steals as the Bobcats made sure they will finish at least .500 or better.
At 11-10 overall and 6-7 in the NLL, the Bobcats finish the regular season at Anthony Wayne (9-11, 5-7) Saturday afternoon before heading into the Division I tournament next week.
BG shot 53% (24-for-45) from the field, made 3-of-5 free throws and connected on 10 triples.
BG 6-8 junior forward Jabari Conway, a third team All-NLL selection, finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.
The Blue Devils were collapsing on Conway, but he still managed to score 11 points in the first half, mostly in the paint. In the second half, he was dishing out to his guards, who were connecting on triples.
“He was getting there, and he had a couple bodies on him, so it was clustered on him, and he didn’t have the normal spacing we would like for him to have,” Roth said. “But he made some good plays for us down there. We hit some big shots when we needed them.”
BG senior guard Zach Furnas scored nine points, sophomore guard Brayden Freyman scored eight, junior guard Brock Hastings scored six and junior forward Nate Kress added three points.
BG outrebounded Springfield, 30-20, but the Bobcats had 17 turnovers to the Blue Devils’ 10. Seven BG turnovers were from steals by senior guard Aaron Overton Jr., who had 20 points and six rebounds.
Will Mays, a 6-4 junior forward, had 18 points, four rebounds and two steals for the Blue Devils.
Springfield finishes the regular season 3-18 and 0-14 in the NLL, leading coach Kyle Linehart to sigh after watching a video replay of Jackson’s buzzer beater.
“The story of our season — the second half rebound that we didn’t get,” Linehart said.
However, this was a completely different Springfield team than the one BG routed, 67-36, one month earlier on the Bobcats’ floor.
“They played really well,” Jackson said. “We scouted them, and they still exploited our weaknesses, but I think that we just never gave up on it.
“Clearly at the buzzer it took all 32 minutes to win but we got it done,” Jackson continued.
Roth added, “Honestly, the last time we played them I was expecting this type of game. They are hard to guard.
“They are quick, they are athletic, they get in the lane, and when they start making shots at home and the crowd gets into it, they are hard to put away. I’ll give them all the credit in the world.
“We had them down eight with two minutes to go and we couldn’t put them away. Now some of that was our fault as well. We didn’t make some stops,” Roth continued.
Linehart says it has been a challenge, but his team has been playing well down the stretch.
“Obviously, the wins are not where we want them to be, the record is not where we want it to be, but I never question, except in a couple games, these guys’ effort,” Linehart said. “They play their tails off.
“We played our best basketball these last four games. It has taken us a little bit of a learning curve after losing some guys but hopefully, the tournament is a whole new season. We’ll see what happens.”
Senior guard LaMarr Isaac Jr. and junior forward Eddie Merrell III scored four apiece for the Blue Devils.
Senior forward Payton Sund, junior guard Marcel Pringle Jr., and senior guard Zack Andrejan scored three apiece and junior guards Jordan Combs and Robert Franklin Jr. added two points each.
The Blue Devils shot 47% (22-for-47) from the field and made 7-of-9 free throws.
