The Kenston Bombers Boys basketball team is off to a great start this season under the leadership of veteran head coach Josh Jakacki.
Game photos click here.
The Kenston Bombers Boys basketball team is off to a great start this season under the leadership of veteran head coach Josh Jakacki.
After coaching the Bombers Boys Basketball Team for eight seasons and winning multiple conference championships, Jakacki, a teacher at Kenston Middle School, left to coach the Crestwood Red Devils in 2015.
Fast forward to the 2025-2026 season and Coach Jakacki has returned to lead the Bombers Boys Basketball Team.
With Coach Jakacki on the sidelines, the Bombers have started the season 12-2 after improving from 11-12 in 2024-2025.
The Bombers continued their winning ways on Jan. 20 and Jan. 23 as they picked up wins number 11 and 12 by defeating the West Geauga Wolverines, 79-77 and the South Rebels, 74-49.
On Jan 20, the Bombers hosted the Wolverines in a highly intense contest that came down to the final seconds.
The first half saw the Bombers and Wolverines race up and down the court as the Bombers got out to a 47-40 lead.
The contest remained high energy and fast paced after intermission as the Wolverines outscored the Bombers 23-17 to get within one point going into the fourth quarter.
The Wolverines came out strong in the final quarter, quickly scoring five points on a three pointer by Luke Ottman and a layup by Cooper Paskowski as they took a 68-64 lead.
After a layup by Mason Pesho and two made free throws by Ottman, the Wolverines led by eight points, 72-64, with 6:45 left to go in the game.
But motivation, communication, and a key strategic coaching decision would propel the Bombers to victory.
Bombers sophomore Luke Stupica said that the 9-0 run by the Wolverines to start the fourth quarter motivated the Bombers.
“That really made us want to win it more since we were down,” Stupica said. “That was like our first big deficit towards the end of the game, so we just started getting steals and got buckets.”
Added sophomore Ethan Burge, “It was the players picking each other up on the floor and talking on defense.”
After the Wolverines 9-0 run, over the next 3:39 of game time, the Bombers regained the momentum and went on a 11-2 run. With 3:16 left in the game, Burge put the Bombers up 75-74 after knocking down a free throw.
In addition to the Bombers players’ increased motivation and focus on communicating effectively, Coach Jakacki said that a big reason for the 11-2 run was the Bombers decision to move to 1-3-1 zone defense.
Coach Jakacki explained that normally the Bombers play man to man defense which tries to force their opponent to play fast and make quick decisions, often leading to turnovers.
During the remainder of the fourth quarter, Coach Jakacki said that the defensive adjustment to a 1-3-1 led the Wolverines to play at a slower pace and over dribble.
“We forced them to slow down a little bit, they weren’t as comfortable in the half court,” Coach Jakacki said. “They had to make decisions, pass the ball side top side and we were able to get some deflections. They started over dribbling a little bit. It tends to happen when you are not used to seeing the 1-3-1.”
He added: “At that point they were covering us up in the man and that slight adjustment I think gave us the advantage we needed late, and fortunately there was enough time on the clock for us to do that.”
After Burge put the Bombers up by one, the Bombers’ Kahlil Hinton got a crucial steal in the paint. Hinton quickly dribbled to half court and made a beautiful bounce pass to Burge who drove to the basket. Burge’s layup put the Bombers ahead 77-74 with 2:36 left in the game.
Hunter Yates then put the Bombers up by five points, 79-74 with a nice cut through the lane as Max George found him open for the layup with 2 minutes left to go.
Although trailing by five, the Wolverines did not give up.
After the Wolverines made a cross court pass, Paskowski made a nice catch and shoot three pointer with 1:26 left in the game to make the score 79-77.
With 52 seconds left, Paskowski got a steal, setting up the Wolverines for a chance to take the lead or tie the game.
However in playing for the last shot, the Bombers got a steal and the Wolverines quickly fouled sending the Bombers to the free throw line.
With 15 seconds left, the Bombers missed both free throws giving the Wolverines a final opportunity to tie the game or take the lead.
With three seconds left, the Wolverines got an open look from behind the arc in the right corner. But the shot was too strong and caromed off the rim and the ball was deflected by the Wolverines as time expired.
For the game against the Wolverines leading the Bombers offensively were Stupica (24 points), Burge (19), Yates (12), Hinton (6), Eli Ellis (5), Pierce Brown (5), Adam Barr (5) and Jared Lechak (3).
The Wolverines were led offensively by Ottman (18 points), Paskowski (18), Finn Keenan (13), Vince Vecchio (12), Pesho (7), Tyler Fink (5) and Ryan Mobley (4).
The Bombers followed their victory over the Wolverines with a dominating 74-49 victory over the South Rebels on Jan. 23.
Against South, three Bombers scored in double figures including Yates (14 points), Burge (13) and Hinton (10).
