By By DAN WEISS / Niles Daily Star
BATTLE CREEK -- For the second time in as many nights, turnovers plagued the Niles varsity basketball team in a loss at the Cereal City Holiday Hoops Classic at the Battle Creek Central Fieldhouse.
Tuesday night the Vikings committed 27 turnovers in a 79-67 loss to Jackson.
With a total of 55 turnovers in the two games his team played this week in Battle Creek, Niles coach Denny Parks was clearly irritated following Tuesday's loss.
The current starting unit consists of seniors Karyce Pulliam, Ivery Cross, Marcus Lawshea and Brian Ketchum and sophomore point guard Nathan Parks.
Niles, now 1-3 on the year, turned the ball over nine times and fell behind 19-11 in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Niles took much better care of the ball, turning it over only three times and fought back to tie the game at 38 by halftime.
The second half was all downhill for Niles as Jackson (4-2) scored more points in each quarter to pull away for the 12-point win.
Niles' last serious threat to come back came with 7:28 left in the fourth quarter when Nate Parks made a 3-pointer to cut the lead to four at 58-54. From that point, however, Jackson went on a 5-0 run to pull ahead by nine and never led by less than seven points the rest of the way.
Niles committed six turnovers in the fourth quarter.
Not only did Niles not take care of the ball, the Vikings did not shoot it well either. Niles shot just 39 percent (22-of-57) from the field, including many missed layups or short jump shots.
Jackson, like Niles, used a deep bench and had a balanced offensive attack. Jarred Axon led Jackson with 21 points and Dorian Pierce added 19. Edward Blackwell pitched in with 12.
Sophomore non-starter Nick Etzcorn led Niles with a career-high 17 points, 13 of them coming in the first half and 11 in the second quarter. Pulliam and Lawshea each scored 11 points. Lawshea also had four assists and three steals and was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Niles returns to action Tuesday night at home against Big 16 West Division foe St. Joseph (3-2).
In the second game Tuesday night, host Battle Creek Central upset Lansing Everett 63-58. Joseph Young scored 30 points for the Bearcats while Derick Nelson led Everett with 21 points.
Jackson….79
Niles………67
Jackson: Kendall Murphy 2 2-2 6, Jarred Axon 6 8-9 21, Dorian Pierce 5 9-9 19, Keith Nearpass 0 0-0 0, Trey Robinson 1 0-0 3, Dewey McLemore 1 1-3 3, Edward Blackwell 3 5-6 12, Todd Stockard 4 0-0 8, Vamar Allen 1 0-0 2, Tim Williams 0 0-0 0, Mark Hines 2 1-2 5. Totals: 25 26-31 79
Niles: Karyce Pulliam 4 2-2 11, Scott Quaye 1 0-0 2, Marcus Lawshea 3 4-6 11, Ivery Cross 0 2-2 2, Nate Parks 3 1-3 9, Paul Wreggelsworth 0 0-0 0, Lonnie Jones 2 1-2 5, Jason Rutkowske 0 0-0 0, Tom Robson 0 0-0 0, Nick Etzcorn 5 7-8 17, John Kessick 1 0-0 2, Brian Ketchum 3 2-2 8. Totals: 22 19-25 67
Jackson 19 19 17 24--79
Niles 11 27 11 18--67
3-point shooting: Jackson 3 (Axon, Robinson, Blackwell), Niles 4 (Parks 2, Pulliam, Lawshea). Team fouls (fouled out): Jackson 18 (none), Niles 18 (none). Team records: Jackson 4-2, Niles 1-3