Ferris, Bates Slam It Home

A big performance from Ferris’ Jason Bates helps boost the Saxons over U-Hi

By Ryan Minnerly

 After losing by six to University in the early stages of the year, Ferris came out with a chip on their shoulder. They were a noticeably improved team in Thursday’s game as they triumphed over the Titans. Senior Jason Bates for the Saxons had a breakout performance, scoring 18 of the team’s game-total 61 points (that’s about 30% of Ferris’ total offensive output). Jason was among the three Saxons to score in double digits. Teammate Connor Halliday dropped 15 and Riley Stockton had 10, meaning the three combined for 43 points. But this wasn’t the headliner from Thursday’s game. And though this was a big-time win for the Saxons who are striving for good seeding in the District tournament, the victory may not have been the most memorable feature from the game for the spectators at University High School. The talk of the game came thanks to Bates, who put on a show for everyone in the gym while dropping his 18 points. In the fourth quarter, the Saxons were up by 8 points. Chris Wilson had the ball for Ferris, and dished it to Jason in the corner. Jason’s defender tried to jump in the ball’s path, but did not make it in time. The rock made into Bates’ hands, and Jason wasted no time. He took two hard dribbles down the baseline toward the hoop. Jason elevated, cocked the ball back, and threw it down. The unexpected slam got all the Saxon fans rowdy, and surely amped up Bates’ teammates. Perhaps the most special elements of the throw-down was that it was not on a fast-break, and also that Ferris did not have a commanding lead, so a missed-finish by Jason would have been costly. But his powerful finish brought momentum and was perhaps his most important bucket of the game.

Before that final quarter, the visiting Saxons played solid basketball. The Scarlet and Silver out-produced their counterparts offensively in the first three quarters. Ferris had 31-25 lead at halftime, which turned into a 45-34 advantage by the start of the final quarter. The fourth quarter proved better for the home team Titans however, who outscored Ferris 22-16. This was not enough however, as the Saxons clung to a diminished lead of just 5 points to capture another victory. Though Ferris won the game, there was one category that University dominated in. The Titans beat out the Saxons in three-pointers in a big way. Both teams combined made a total of 10 three-balls – nine of them came from U-Hi. Chris Wilson of Ferris had the only long-range bucket for his team. Yet the victory is all that matters and that belonged to Ferris. The Saxons improve to 8-5 in league and 10-8 overall. The picture for Districts becomes better with every win. Next, the Saxons will face off with Gonzaga Prep. In their last meeting, the Pups triumphed over Ferris by a prominent margin of 19 points. Although the Saxons seem to be in a good place to earn a position in the postseason District tournament, they surely will not settle with where they are at now. Anything can happen, so every game is equally as important as the next. Good luck boys!