Jamestown boys power past Midgets in 2nd half

• Jon Wanner

Photo by John M. Steiner/Forum Communications Co. Dickinson High senior Jon Wanner dribbles ahead of Jamestown’s Cody Benson on Friday night during a West Region boys basketball game at Jerry Meyer Arena.

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JAMESTOWN — With 25 seconds left in the first half, Jerry Meyer Arena lost power to its scoreboard at almost the exact same time Dickinson High senior center Vance Volesky dropped in a long jumper.

The bucket cut Jamestown’s lead to seven points, but when the energy returned to the clock, the Blue Jays got a jolt of their own.

Jamestown surged in the second half to defeat Dickinson 64-48 on Friday in a West Region game.

Dyllan Anderson hit a jumper from the right baseline with three seconds to go in the half to make it 31-21 at halftime.

The Blue Jays opened up the second half with a 9-0 run over the first 3 minutes.

Nathan Willer, who had 10 points in the first half, scored four of the Blue Jays’ first nine points in the second half to highlight the run.

“When Nate Willer is aggressive, he’s a very good basketball player,” Jamestown head coach Kelley Kessler said. “I think it has taken him a while to understand that, but I think he’s coming around and we’re really happy to see Nate with that aggressiveness.”

The 6-foot-5 senior finished with 17 points and eight rebounds as the Blue Jays improve to 5-2 on the season and 3-1 in the West Region.

Dickinson, which never had a led, closed the gap to 12 in the second half, but Jamestown’s defense forced 12 turnovers in the second half to prevent any chance for a comeback.

Danny Fischer led the Blue Jays with 19 points, nine of which came from the free-throw line.

The senior guard uncharacteristically never got going from beyond the arc, but he made up for it with his acrobatic layups. He also topped the team with five assists.

Dickinson senior Jon Wanner scored nine of his team-high 12 points in the second half.

Jordan Krieg added 10 points, but the momentum never stayed with the Midgets — something that’s become somewhat of a theme for Dickinson this year.

“We lose our confidence and our flow in our offense,” Dickinson head coach John Wilson said. “We’ve got to find a way to fix our offensive spots.”

D: Jon Wanner 12, Jordan Krieg 10, Brett Braunagel 9, Austin Fournier 9, Tyrell Parker 4, Vance Volesky 2, Jaden Kudrna 2.

J: Dabby Fischer 19, Nathan Willer 17, Dyllan Anderson 15, Jake Nieland 7, Jordan Thoreson 5, Ryan Schlenker 1.

Halftime: Jamestown 31-21. 3-pointers: D 3 (Fournier 2, Wanner 1), J 4 (Anderson 3, Nieland 1). Free throws: D 5-10, J 18-28. Total fouls: D 21, J 16. Rebounds: D 29 (Parker 9), J 35 (Willer 8). Assists: D 7 (Krieg 2), J 10 (Fischer 5). Steals: D 8 (Wanner 4), J 8 (three with 2). Turnovers: D 17, J 17. Records: D 2-4 (District 0-4), J 5-2 (District 3-1).

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