Stedmon Lemon’s shot proves decisive in J.C. Smith win

J.C. Smith brought some defensive intensity for the new year.

The Golden Bulls held Wingate scoreless over the final 2 minutes, 18 seconds in a 66-64 nonconference win Saturday at Brayboy Gym, their third straight victory. Stedmon Lemon drained a 12-foot jumper from the left baseline with 36.9 seconds left for the game-winner and J.C. Smith (7-4) foiled Wingate’s (7-4) final possession with a steal.

“January is a very important growth month for us,” Golden Bulls coach Steve Joyner said. “That’s what we talk about, and February is a fine-tuning month to get ready for the tournament.”

Wingate trailed 38-28 in the second half but rallied to force a 64-all tie on Mike Baez’s three-pointer with 2:18 left. The Bulldogs limited J.C. Smith to one basket, but Lemon’s shot was decisive.

“We finally established a little bit of a post game, which allowed us to make some threes,” Wingate coach Brian Good said. “We were 2-of-12 in the first half and finally got some threes from the inside-out.”

But J.C. Smith got the stops that mattered most in a tight game.

“That’s something we’ve been emphasizing,” Joyner said. “I still thought we got a little weak defensively down in the second half, but I was impressed by our defensive understanding.”

Three who mattered

Diondre Pratt: J.C. Smith guard scored 13 of his game-high 17 points in the second half.

Josh Dominguez: Paced Wingate with 12 points.

Alandre Davis: Golden Bulls center scored 12 points, eight in the first half.

Observations

▪ J.C. Smith went on 22-14 run to close the first half with a 34-27 lead at intermission.

▪ Wingate’s Dominguez connected on all four shots to lead the Bulldogs with eight first-half points.

▪ Stedmon Lemon, J.C. Smith’s leading scorer at 16.6 points per game, finished with four.

Worth mentioning

▪ J.C. Smith has won three in a row.

▪  Wingate has lost three of its last four.

They said it

“It went where it was supposed to and thought (Xavier Griffin) made a good fake and just couldn’t get where he wanted.” – Wingate coach Brian Good on the Bulldogs’ final possession.

“We think we have a good working knowledge of ourselves, and what we’re trying to do is grow.” – Joyner

This story was originally published January 2, 2016 at 7:46 PM with the headline "Stedmon Lemon’s shot proves decisive in J.C. Smith win."