Jordan family celebrates another championship
Young and Thornton both had a little something to prove Friday night at Carver Arena.
Young was ready to justify the hype that began two years ago when Marcus Jordan's transfer to the Public League Red West power gave the Dolphins six Division I prospects.
Thornton wanted to validate its season-long reign as the top-ranked team in Class 4A.
With Michael Jordan sitting behind the Young bench cheering on his son, Young knocked off Thornton 59-54 in the 4A semifinal.
And just like his dad used to do, Marcus excelled in the fourth quarter when he scored 10 of his game-high 22 points. Nineteen came after halftime.
Young (25-9) will oppose Waukegan (26-4) in the 8:15 p.m. title game Saturday.
Four straight Jordan free throws early in the fourth quarter lifted Young to a 47-41 lead. A Colvin hanging-in-the-lane bank shot put the Dolphins up eight.
Midway through the fourth quarter, a Richie Thompson three-pointer followed by a layup left the Wildcats trailing 51-49. A Jordan basket and two more foul shots made it 55-49.
Jamal Gray hit a three-pointer and Parker followed with a layup to bring Thornton within 57-54 with 54.6 seconds left.
Thornton came out on fire, hitting shot after shot in jumping out to a 16-2 lead as Smith hit back-to-back three-pointers.
Young, however, maintained its composure and responded with nine unanswered points, with Colvin scoring five.
A two-hand dunk by Stanford Brown off a missed shot brought the Dolphins within 24-21 at halftime.
The Wildcats tried to lure Young into their patented up-tempo game. The Dolphins wisely opted for a slower pace and looked to turn this showdown into a half-court game. They held Thornton to six points in the second quarter.
Continuing to dictate tempo, the Dolphins went ahead 33-29 midway through the third quarter. Back came Thornton, and Jay Parker's back-to-back threes provided a 38-36 Wildcats' lead.
Jordan sparked a 7-2 burst to give Young a 43-40 lead after three.
