Jackson Frericks unlikely hero as Cedar Falls topples top-ranked Kennedy in OT

CEDAR FALLS — It was a game looking for a hero, and one of the unlikeliest guys stepped up to take that role. Using the unlikeliest of shots.

At least for him.

Sophomore Jackson Frericks nailed back-to-back corner 3-pointers in overtime to give Class 4A 10th-ranked Cedar Falls a lead and eventually a 67-62 win Tuesday night at No. 1 Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

Coming in, the 6-foot-7 sophomore had taken one single shot behind the arc this season, missing it. Undeterred here for whatever reason, he tried and missed two prior treys before taking a trip to Clutchville.

'I didn't make a couple of the first ones to begin with,' Frericks said. 'But Coach keeps telling me to shoot it, that I've got a good stroke. So just pull it when I'm open. Let it fly. That's kind of how it happened.'

This was a weird game in that it appeared for a long while that Kennedy's Ki Jenkins was going to be the unlikely hero. The junior guard wasn't even listed on his team's roster sheet but came off the bench and went off for 16 points, including a 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer that gave the Cougars (6-1) a 43-40 lead.

Jenkins came in having scored three points in four games this season, including 1-for-11 field-goal shooting. He went 7 for 9 in this game.

'Ki has battled through some injuries,' Kennedy Coach Jon McKowen said. 'He has practiced really well over break, so we were going to give him a few more minutes. He took full advantage of it.'

A Derrick Diggins driving hoop with under 30 seconds left in regulation tied the game for Kennedy, 58-58, with CF star A.J. Green missing an open jumper at the buzzer to win it. The junior guard — who owns offers from the likes of Iowa State and Stanford — had a team-high 19 points before fouling out in the final minute of OT.

Kennedy did a nice job throwing body after body at him defensively and holding him four points under his scoring average and to 6-for-15 shooting. The Tigers (5-2) had as much as an 11-point second-quarter lead, but an 11-0 run to begin the third quarter moved Kennedy ahead by four, 35-31.

'In that third quarter, we had a little lull,' said Cedar Falls Coach Ryan Schultz. 'We came out, talked about it and knew we were going to have to take a punch. We didn't come out of the gate very well in the second half. Luckily, we regrouped, and the kids stuck it out in the end.'

Logan Wolf, another sophomore, added 17 points for CF. The Tigers played four sophs, starting two.

Drake Brewster got into foul trouble in the first half for Kennedy but rebounded in the second half and finished with 15 points. He was one of three Cougars to eventually foul out.

'We had a lot of holes tonight,' McKowen said. 'We've got to go back and reflect on what we're doing in practice. We didn't carry it over (from holiday break) real well. We had some lulls in practice a little bit. We talked to the guys about taking care of their bodies and focus sharply. We just weren't sharp and ready tonight. There were spurts of that in practice this week. We know what we need to fix. I thought we beat ourselves as much as they beat us tonight.'

AT C.R. KENNEDY

CEDAR FALLS (67): Ben Gerdes 4-8 1-2 10, Isaiah Johnson 3-10 4-4 11, Jackson Frericks 3-7 0-0 8, A.J. Green 6-15 4-4 19, Logan Wolf 6-12 5-8 17, Jack Campbell 0-1 0-1 0, Reese Gardner 0-0 0-0 0, Sam Gary 0-0 0-0 0, Daniel Martinson 1-1 0-2 2. Totals 23-54 14-21 67.

C.R. KENNEDY (62): Drake Brewster 5-12 5-6 15, Derrick Diggins 5-12 0-1 10, Matt Berst 1-6 0-0 2, Jackson Foley 3-5 0-0 7, Malik Haynes 3-10 2-2 9, Nick Duehr 1-4 0-0 3, Ki Jenkins 7-9 0-0 16, Isaiah Harris 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-59 7-9 62.

Halftime — Cedar Falls 31. Kennedy 24. End of Regulation — 58-58. 3-point goals — Cedar Falls 7-16 (Gerdes 1-2, Johnson 1-3, Frericks 2-4, Green 3-6, Wolf 0-1), Kennedy 5-19 (Brewster 0-2, Foley 1-2, Diggins 0-1, Berst 0-4, Haynes 1-6, Duehr 1-2, Jenkins 2-2). Rebounds — Cedar Falls 40 (Johnson, Wolf 8), Kennedy 29 (Berst 5). Total fouls — Cedar Falls 15, Kennedy 23. Fouled out — Green, Brewster, Haynes, Jenkins. Turnovers — Cedar Falls 15, Kennedy 14.

l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@thegazette.com