Electric high school basketball doubleheader: Jackson girls, GlenOak boys extend win streaks

JACKSON TWP. — Fans packed the Jackson High School gym on Friday night for an electric doubleheader of Federal League basketball. The girls and boys teams from Jackson and GlenOak were showcased in two close battles.

The first game ended in a buzzer beater that left the Jackson girls celebrating their 46-43 win after Megan Campbell's game-winning 3-pointer. This extended Jackson’s win streak to six as the Polar Bears continue to be unbeaten in the Federal League.

In the boys game, GlenOak pulled out a 66-63 win to move a game ahead of Jackson into a tie for second in the tightly-packed Federal League.

'We just kept our composure': Jackson girls basketball wins thriller

Jackson made the most of having the last shot in a tie game. With two seconds on the clock, Campbell came up from the right wing to catch a pass up top, well beyond the 3-point arc. She buried the shot and her teammates rushed onto the floor to swarm her near midcourt.

“It felt great to make that final shot,” Campbell said. “I could not have done it without my teammates from start to finish.”

Campbell scored a game-high 22 points, making five 3-point shots.

Madison Lepley added 11 points for Jackson and three 3-point shots in the second half.

“We just kept our composure and let ourselves know that everything was going to be OK,” Lepley said.

GlenOak head coach Paul Wackerly reflected on the close game and talked about what is going to move the Golden Eagles (3-6, 2-3) forward as a whole.

“We have a lot of work to do. We need to win games,” Wackerly said.

Senior Chandler Vaughn and junior Nakahleigh Gadison scored 16 apiece to lead GlenOak.

GlenOak led the first two quarters of play, taking a 20-18 lead into halftime. Jackson rallied to score 19 points in the third to take a 37-29 lead into the fourth quarter.

Head coach Anthony Butch talked about his team's defense keying a successful second half despite not shooting the ball as well as the Bears typically do.

“We knew we had to take control of the game being down two at half,” Butch said.

GlenOak battled back strongly in the fourth quarter. And with less than 15 seconds left, it was tied, setting the stage for Campbell's winning shot..

Heading into the season for the Polar Bears, Butch didn’t exactly know what to expect. They graduated two seniors who are playing at the Division I collegiate level.

“Starting 5-0 in the league is pretty special because our league is very tough,” Butch said. “We are continuing to get better one day at a time.”

'Driven by the older kids,' GlenOak boys basketball extends win streak

Anticipation continued into the boy’s game in another tight matchup. GlenOak ended up pulling away, winning 66-63.

GlenOak was able to maintain the lead after each of the last three quarters to secure the win. Head coach Rick Hairston emphasized how well each team played.

“Our kids made timely shots when we needed them. We got stops when we needed them made,” Hairston said.

The leadership GlenOak has developed with its five seniors has been helpful to simply know how to win.

“The team is driven by the older kids on our team. They have played in a lot of games and have a lot of experience,” Hairston said.

GlenOak senior guard Ja’Corey Lipkins, who was honorable mention All-Ohio last season, scored a team-high 21 points. Another stellar performance came from junior center Reese Zerger, who scored 16. He put up 11 points in the third quarter alone.

“We just wanted to go out there and play hard to get the win. At halftime, we were up two and we just wanted to keep it going,” Zerger said.

Hairston said there could be room for improvement in defending the 3-point line. Jackson made 12 3-pointers. GlenOak relied on its rebounding strength.

Kyle Monterrubio made three 3-pointers to score a game-high 24 to lead Jackson (3-3, 2-2). Cameron Weekley made five 3s in scoring 21 for the Bears.

“You have to come ready to play. I thought we played well at times, but had a lot of defensive breakdowns,” Jackson head coach Tim Debevec said.

GlenOak (4-1, 3-1) is on a three-game win streak and is tied with Green for second in the league. Both trail McKinley by a game.

“We just want to get better and make sure that we compete every night,” Hairston said. "Hopefully when we get to the tournament we will really see what type of team we can be."

Both schools will go head-to-head for a second time later this season. The girls will play Jan. 31 and the boys will play Feb. 2, with both games at GlenOak High School.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Jackson High School girls basketball wins at buzzer; GlenOak boys win