Gabe Watkins watched his Jefferson College teammates pull out an impressive 83-77 comeback victory over visiting St. Louis Community College Jan. 22 through the lenses of his Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses.
Watkins, the Herculaneum graduate (2023) and starting point guard for the Vikings, was sidelined after suffering a concussion two nights earlier in
Belleville in a 96-71 loss to Southwestern Illinois College. Watkins fell backward and his head struck the court. He said he had to wear the sunglasses even indoors at night because he’s suffering from post-concussion headaches. He wasn’t sure when he’d be able to practice and play.
“Hopefully, we’ll get him back soon,” said second-year Viking head coach Cornelius Walker, who also directs the women’s team. “He’s the key to our success on both ends of the court. We don’t want him to rush back and reinjure himself.”
The victory over the Archers (11-9, 0-2) snapped a five-game losing streak as Jeffco improved to 7-12 overall and 1-1 in the Missouri Community College Athletic Conference. The Vikings lost 102-79 to Mineral Area College (12-8, 2-3) in their other MCCAC contest Jan. 18. St. Louis began the season 11-1 and was ranked in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II, but the loss to Jeffco was its eighth in a row.
Had Watkins played against St. Louis, there would have been four players from Jefferson County on the floor. Sophomore guard Cole Rickermann (Festus, 2023) starts for the Vikings while the Archers feature freshmen Patrick Flanagan (St. Pius X, 2024) and Kyle Gast (Fox, 2024) at guard and forward.
Gast led Fox with 18 points per game last season. He and Flanagan each have started four games for the Archers and are averaging about four points apiece. Gast said he chose St. Louis because some of his AAU teammates were there.
Gast wasn’t playing at all at the beginning of the season, but he’s started the last four games at small forward. He made two free throws for his only points against the Vikings. Flanagan scored three points in the second half.
“It’s definitely been a challenge going from high school to college,” Flanagan said. “Everybody’s bigger and stronger and I’ll find my groove. We’re going to turn it around and not let (the losing streak) defeat us. We’re not going to accept losing. That’s not who we are as a team. We have to figure out how to turn it around.
“I thought we were going to pull it out (against Jeffco) at the end, but they wanted it more than us. They were outrebounding us at both ends for second-chance shots. We weren’t hungry enough on the glass.”
Rickermann made a free throw in the first half and contributed three rebounds and three assists. Jeffco sophomore forward Kade Harman (Perth, Australia) made eight of nine free throws, was seven of 12 from the field and led the team with 27 points. Sophomore forward Nick Davis (Macon, Ga.) finished with 20 points and Isaiah Young, a sophomore point guard from Canada, dished out 11 assists.
St. Louis has only one sophomore and he wasn’t in the lineup against Jeffco. Forward Darric Smith led the Archers with 18 points, 14 in the second half. CJ Land (10), Justin Barsh (10), Zac Goss (10) and Kieran Wors (12) also scored in double figures.
Despite the absence of Watkins, the Vikings made 11 3-point baskets on 33 attempts and shot 40 percent overall. They outscored the visitors 52-41 in the second half.
“Together – next man up. That’s what I told them at the end of the game,” Walker said. “It might not be your night, but we got a collective win. That’s what we have to have. Cole didn’t score what he normally gets but he drew two key offensive charges. Kade made some big shots. Isaiah Young handled the ball most of the time with Gabe out.
“One of the biggest things we talked about at halftime was playing with toughness. One of those things is to rebound outside of your area. That’s what we did in the second half.”
Jeffco traveled to Sedalia Wednesday, after the Leader deadline, to play State Fair CC (14-6, 1-3) in an MCCAC game. After road games at Metropolitan CC of Kansas City and North Central Missouri (Trenton) Feb. 7-8, the Vikings have a road rematch with the Archers.
“Our record overall doesn’t matter when we get into conference play,” Walker said. “I’m here to change the culture. I feel like I’ve done that with the support of the whole school.”
Viking women win by 80 points
Sophomore guard Josie Allen of Festus went on a scoring spree late in the second quarter to help Jefferson College’s women’s team overpower winless St. Louis Community College 115-35 Jan. 22 at Hillsboro.
The Vikings improved to 12-4 overall and 1-2 in the Missouri Community College Athletic Conference while the Archers sank to 0-20.
Allen made 12 of 19 shots from the field and led all scorers with 25 points. She also picked off five steals. Jeffco had lost its previous two games to MCCAC rivals Moberly Area CC (16-4, 4-2) Jan. 2 and Mineral Area College (16-5, 1-1) Jan. 18. Two other Viking games were canceled because of snow.
“Obviously, we want to make a big statement in a conference game,” Allen said. “It was nice to rack up that amount of points. We had a tough loss at home against Moberly, and then it snowed, then we ran into a roadblock at MAC.”
Allen said she hasn’t committed to play at a four-year school yet.
“I’ll go where the wind takes me,” she said with a laugh.
On several offensive bursts against St. Louis, Allen sped to the corner seeking an open look. She’s as capable of spotting up for a jump shot as she is dribbling through the defense to the basket.
“I run the floor and look for my teammates, and do what I can to help (them),” she said. “We’re a lot quicker and can run the ball better. Playing in transition is our biggest thing and we were able to do that tonight.”
Allen was one of the first players Jeffco head coach Cornelius Walker recruited when he landed the job two years ago.
“All Josie has to understand is to be consistent,” Walker said. “If you’re going to lead, lead; if you’re going to shoot, make shots. She needed to find the confidence in herself. It was good to see her get into a rhythm.”
Jeffco hoisted 97 shots from the field, sinking 50. Sophomore forward Lauren Bennett finished with 21 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore guards Allecia Cornell and Lailah Hadley each had 14 points and freshman forward Tai Harvey logged 12. In all 12 Vikings scored.
Walker was doing double duty, coaching the Viking men against St. Louis right after the women’s game. He said it isn’t hard to differentiate the two teams.
“No matter what the score is, I’m never going to stop coaching,” he said. “Every quarter starts 0-0. That’s what I made sure we went through tonight. The cancellations because of the storms set us back. We were off almost two weeks, not being in game mode.”
Freshman point guard Kali Walker of Hillsboro didn’t play much against St. Louis but still made a basket. Her dad, “CB,” said he’s proud to be part of her college experience. He coached Kali’s teams to a championship when she was in middle school.
“It’s one of the biggest things I’ve dreamed of as a coach,” he said. “Having an opportunity to do it at this level is great.”
Before Walker’s arrival, there were times when the Viking women were on the other end of blowouts.
“Our mission is to be as great as we can,” he said.
In the 65-54 loss at MAC, Jeffco led 12-9 after the first quarter but fell behind 30-26 at halftime. Allen was held scoreless while sophomore point guard Kanise Mills led the Vikings with 12 points. MAC freshman guard Amia Moore of Herculaneum had six points and five rebounds.
Against visiting Moberly, the score was tied 48-48 after three quarters before the Greyhounds pulled away 70-60. Princess Ibeh hauled down 17 rebounds for Moberly and Bennett had a double-double with 13 boards and 17 points. Allen was three-of-15 from the field with 10 points and three steals.
The Vikings traveled to Sedalia for a conference game against State Fair (16-3, 1-2) on Wednesday, after the Leader deadline, for the beginning of a five-game road trip.