That’s how many wins are needed to win a state championship. Dunbar has done that more often than any area boys team in the last 11 seasons, winning four state titles.
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Tuesday night’s 73-60 win at Chaminade Julienne was another successful learning curve by Dunbar. Jackson did his part, scoring 22 points including 12 in the decisive fourth quarter. He’ll do even more Wednesday when he signs to play football and basketball at Urbana University during National Signing Day.
The win likely secured Dunbar (15-2) a No. 2 seed behind Trotwood-Madison in the Division II sectional.
CJ (10-7) was coming off a season-defining win at Cincinnati Roger Bacon. This might not be the last time these longtime inner-city rivals play this season.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they jump in my basket,” Dunbar coach Pete Pullen said of CJ positioning itself in the sectional bracket. “If it’s a close game and you get a neutral court, anything can happen.”
Dunbar hit four 3-pointers and led 12-2 to open the game and appeared eager to cruise in launch mode. CJ senior guard Christian Montague made certain that wouldn’t happen. He answered with three 3s and tallied 17 first-quarter points to single-handedly pull CJ back into contention.
A slick 6-foot guard who’s unsigned, Montague bottomed five 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 29 points, much to the delight of a couple of Walsh University coaches who huddled with him afterward. CJ led 48-44 entering the final quarter.
“I think we proved we could play with them, but we’ve done that all year,” CJ coach Joe Staley said. “We’ve played everybody tough. At crunch time we made some mistakes and Dunbar took advantage of them. The draw is going to be interesting. You never know. You’ve got to beat somebody in the tournament.”
P’Hariz Watkins added 18 points for CJ.
Stormi Cook connected on five 3-pointers and had 17 points for Dunbar. Devon Baker and Caleb McConnell added 15 apiece.
“They’re growing on me a little bit,” Pullen said of the Wolverines. “They wear me out some. I’m probably getting a little gray all over because they love that 3-ball. … When we challenged them and went to the basket, that opened up the 3 again. They listen and they learn. This is a good group.”
This also was the first of three big tests for Dunbar this week. On Friday they’ll resume City League play at Ponitz and on Saturday will play at Trotwood-Madison (14-2) in a matchup of D-II powers that are ranked among the top five in the state. That game sold out in advance earlier Tuesday.
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View photos and video from the game at MyDaytonDailyNews.com
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