D-V-E Titans take third at regions
Jenson finishes
high school career with 34 point game
At halftime of last Thursday’s third-place game at the Region 2 Boys’ Basketball Tournament, Drayton-Valley-Edinburg coach Cory Laxdal encouraged his seniors to play hard for the final two quarters of their high school careers.
They took it to heart, especially Syris Jenson. The 6-foot-5 center dominated the third quarter scoring 12 points, sparking the Titans to a 63-52 win over the Hillsboro-Central Valley Burros.
Jenson finished with a game-high 34 points shooting 16-for-23 from the field and pulled down 15 rebounds.
“Syris played a whale of a ballgame today. He played like it was his last as a senior in high school. What a tremendous outing by him,” Laxdal said. “I think he felt he had something to prove.”
A pair of Jenson baskets at the close of he third quarter capped off an 8-2 run for the Titans, giving D-V-E a 48-42 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Jenson scored six more points in the fourth quarter before fouling out with 1:25 to go in the game with the Titans holding on to a comfortable 60-50 lead.
The Burros had an early 11-16 lead in the first quarter, but the Titans answered with a 7-2 run.
An inside basket by Jenson capped the run and tied the game at 18-18 with 28 seconds to go in the first.
A pair of free throws by H-CV’s Tyler Sumner made the score 20-18 heading into the second quarter.
The Titans and Burros traded baskets in the second quarter with D-V-E holding a 32-31 advantage at halftime.
In addition to Jenson’s 34 points, Austin Markel also hit double figures with 14 points. Bradley Keena added five points for D-V-E, followed by Jacob Larson and Alex Iverson with three points and Cameron Littlejohn and Ben Phelps with two points each.
Statistics
For the game, D-V-E shot 25-for-55 from the field, good for 45 percent, that included a 3-for-5 performance from beyond the three point line. The Titans shot a decent 9-for-13 from the free-throw line, good for 69 percent.
Turnovers were nearly even with H-CV turning the ball over 13 times to the Titan’s 12.
H-CV finished the game shooting 18-for-49 from the field for 39 percent and went 15-for-25 from the charity stripe for 60 percent.
Tyler Sumner led the Burros with 13 points, followed by Dusty Schildberger with nine.
“We talked about going out and finishing the season right,” Laxdal said. “Third place is the best finish since we started the co-op. That’s quite an accomplishment for these kids. It was a great way to finish.”