By Paul Gotham
HAMILTON, N.Y. — Ethan Jacobs scored a total 10 points during his two seasons playing for Ohio University. Wednesday night the redshirt junior netted 13…in the first half.
Talk about making up for lost time.
Making plays in the paint, being a threat from outside, setting up teammates and getting it done on the defensive end Jacobs led the way as the Colgate Raiders claimed an 81-58 opening night victory over the Cornell Big Red.
He did plenty to help the cause. Just don’t expect the redshirt junior to tell secrets, at least not any of his team’s secrets.
Like any 6-11 center Jacobs can score in the paint. But what makes him a difficult challenge for opponents is his ability to step away from the basket and knock down a three-pointer. The Tipton, Indiana native buried all three of his attempts in the first half of his first game on Cotterell Court. And as teammate Murphy Burnatowski notes, Jacobs opens up the court and creates opportunities for his teammates.
“Bigs aren’t used to guarding guys like that. The way he’s been shooting it at the beginning of the year, they’re really going to have to get out and guard him and that’s just going to open up the key even more for me to post up.”
The pair combined twice on hi-lo passes. With the defense stretching to defend Jacobs on the perimeter, he recognized the situation and fed Burnatowski for buckets inside.
The duo combined for 11 straight early in the game as the Raiders took their first lead of the game. Burnatowski took a Jacobs feed from the top of the key and sealed his man for a basket. Jacobs followed with a pair of threes and Burnatowski finished the spurt with a trey of his own to give Colgate a 13-6 lead.
Jacobs capped an 8-0 run later in the half with another three-ball.
“When you got a guy Ethan’s size who can shoot the ball the way he does, it’s something that the opposition, no matter how much they prepare for it, they’re not used to it,” said third-year head coach Matt Langel. “Big 6-8, 6-9, 6-10 guys they’re not used to guarding three-point shooters…Ethan has the ability to do it, so it would be foolish not to use him.”
Langel noted the effect Jacobs has on Burnatowski who led the Raiders in scoring a year ago.
“You look at Murphy Burnatowski’s stat line, and he plays 26 minutes and gets 19 points on 15 shots,” Langel explained. “Last year he had to shoot 19, 20, 21 shots at times, and that’s not good.”
Jacobs was part of 9-0 run to start the second as Colgate all but put away the Big Red. Again he used a drop step in the lane and his defender was no match. At the opposite end he stepped in front of Devin Cherry and, much to the delight of the home crowd, swatted away his layup attempt.
“It was great to see that many people come out for our home opener,” Jacobs stated. “I hope they continue to come out and support us.”
After playing two years at Ohio, Jacobs transferred to Colgate. Per NCAA requirements he sat out last season and practiced with the squad. Burnatowski, who made the move from Maine to Colgate after his sophomore season, understood what was going through his teammate’s mind.
“I could really relate to what he went through last year sitting out my first year as well,” Burnatowski said. “There were days in practice where he would just dominate. It was good to see. Obviously, we wanted him on the court last year, but we’re really happy to have him this year.”
Jacobs did plenty Wednesday night in his new home. He finished with 15 points, four rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Two of his three three-pointers came on a similar play. A simple, yet effective, combination where a ballhandler gets into the paint, makes a jump stop, pivots and uses a drop-off pass to set up a teammate for an open three.
“It’s a certain read that we like to do, and it was there for us tonight.”
A certain read? Does it have a name?
“It has a certain name, but I can’t tell our secrets,” Jacobs said laughing.
Jacobs keeps burying threes, and it won’t be a secret for much longer.
Colgate hosts St. Francis (Pa.) Saturday afternoon for a 2 p.m. tipoff at Cotterell Court.
Paul Gotham is the founder, owner, editor and lead writer at Pickin’ Splinters. Paul is the Communications and Media Director of the New York Collegiate Baseball League. He is a USA Today Contributor and member of the USBWA. You can follow Paul on Twitter @PickinSplinters.
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