Peoria Manual forward Jamere Jackson made it sound as if he were one of the Munchkins from ”The Wizard of Oz.”
”We know we`re short,” said Jackson, Manual`s tallest starter at 6 feet 3 inches. ”There`s not too many 6-2 teams down here.”
Peoria Manual was in the land of the giants Friday afternoon against Rockford Boylan in the Class AA state quarterfinals, but the Rams still have a chance to get to the promised land. Playing against a front line that included 6-8 Chad Gallagher and 6-6 Danny Jones, Manual overcame its shortcomings for a 49-41 victory.
The Rams (30-1) advanced to Saturday`s first semifinal against King. Boylan finished at 29-3.
”We try to help as much on defense as we can, pressure them a little bit,” said Manual coach Dick Van Scyoc. ”We didn`t scout Rockford Boylan. We relied on getting back and packing in as much as we could.”
”We haven`t gone against a front line as big as they were,” said Jackson, who led all scorers with 21 points, 14 in the first half when Manual built a 26-16 lead. ”But we played against shorter front lines that were just as tough.
”We just try and play our game, regardless. We`re not going to change. We`ve won 30 games.”
Manual`s game is quickness, adept ballhandling and holding the ball at the right time against a taller opponent. For example, after the Rams went ahead 22-14 early in the second quarter, they held the ball for three minutes until Jackson`s baseline layup made it 24-14 with 2 minutes 31 seconds left in the period.
”Manual didn`t take our inside game away from us as much as their delay game kept our hands away from the ball,” said Boylan coach Steve Goers. ”You hear about Dick`s run-and-gun teams, but they`re disciplined kids, too.”
Free-throw shooting also hurt Boylan, which was 9 of 14 from the line while Manual sank 15 of 16. Curtis Stuckey, one of four Manual players who is averaging in double figures, hit 8 of 8 foul shots and had 12 points.
Boylan`s Jones had a disappointing game. The 6-6, 235-pound senior, who had averaged 21.9 points and 9.5 rebounds, finished with 11 points and 4 rebounds. He was 4 of 12 from the field. Gallagher led Boylan with 14 points and 9 rebounds.
”For 31 games this season, we made shots that we missed today,” Goers said. ”But you`ve got to remember these are high school kids.”
”I looked at the stat sheet that all you fellows have, and I saw Danny Jones, Danny Jones, Danny Jones,” said Van Scyoc. ”That tells you one thing. It`s either Jones or Gallagher that gets the ball around the hoop. That tells you the other guys don`t shoot much. We were hoping to delay the game long enough to win.”
Van Scyoc said this Manual team is better than his 1982 squad that reached the state quarterfinals and finished 23-8.
”It`s much better overall,” he said. ”This is a better shooting team, and we can run better.”
