Kolb’s 29-point effort pushes Jenkintown past Delco Christian

JENKINTOWN >> The Jenkintown boys basketball team hits the court this year with four new starters, though three of the four have logged significant varsity minutes prior to this season.

The only returning starter from last season is guard Jamison Kolb. The Drakes are going to rely on the gritty senior heavily this season and Tuesday night they needed him to bail them out.

Jenkintown used the 29-point performance from Kolb to hold off a late surge from Delco Christian to escape with a 63-57 Bicentennial Athletic League win.

“Jamison Kolb has been a part of a lot of success for Jenkintown basketball,” Jenkintown coach Wes Emme said. “He was our leading scorer as a freshman in the postseason. He’s a tremendous shooter and confident ball handler and he’s tough as nails and those three things usually go well together.”

It’s easy to get caught up on the offense number that Kolb puts up but the way he puts them up is sometimes inexplicable. Kolb is not a big body by any means yet still somehow finds a way to get many of his points in the paint. Tuesday night he also showcased his free throw shooting ability as he knocked down 15 of 17 while hitting his first 13.

“For us to be successful we need him to be great,” Emme said. “He guards one of the best players, he harasses the ball handler. He came out of the game for one minute. The scary part is, he plays so hard I fear for his life. He’s all of 135 pounds soaking wet and he’s on the floor more than he’s standing up during the course of the game.”

Kolb also gets it done on the defensive end as well as he is usually tasked with guarding the other teams best guard. Tuesday Kolb was assigned to TJ Tann for a lot of the night as he and Drakes (3-1, 2-1 BAL Constitution) held him to 12 points, with six coming late in the game and is still a modest production rate for him.

Mike DiValentino, John Contoudis, and Gavin Lafferty are the other Drakes starters this year that have substantial varsity experience entering this season. The trio still looks to be settling into their new roles but come midseason they will be a more polished product.

“There’s kind of a natural progression here at Jenkintown where the next crew has come in and just assume the role,” Emme said. “Those guys understand that if they just do their job on every single play we’re going to be successful.”

As Kolb’s 20 second-half points pushed the Drakes to victory over Delco Christian (3-2, 1-2 BAL Presidents) they know there is still work to be done but for Jenkintown, it’s nice to get a learning experience out of a win.

“Tonight is not an indication of the team that we’re going to be in February when it matters the most,” Emme said. “Jamison is the only one who has been there in those end of game situations and you have to fail before you can succeed. The great thing about it is, we won the game and we can go back and watch the film, talk about it and work on it.”

Jenkintown 63, Delco Christian 57
Jenkintown 14 13 21 15—63
Delco Christian 10 13 17 17—57
Jenkintown: Jameson Kolb 7 15-17 29; Gavin Lafferty 2 1-1 5; Jason Plange 1 3-4 5; John Contoudis 5 2-2 13; Mike DiValentino 2 0-0 5; Patrick Morrin 2 0-0 4; Trevor Brockwell 0 2-2 2; totals 19 23-26 63.
Delco Christian: TJ Tann 4 2-2 12; Tyler Penley 4 1-1 11; Jordan Parks 7 11-19 25; Nigel Ray 0 0-2 0; Jacob Brakema 2 1-2 5; Tyler Smith 2 0-0 4; totals 19 15-26 57.
Three-point goals: Contoudis, DiValentino, Penley 2.