In his seven years as Ithaca boys basketball head coach, Jim Thompson has never seen such a well-played game from a more respectable group of kids.

The Yellowjackets (15-2, 11-1 TVC West) clinched at least a share of the conference title on Friday with a 67-34 win over Valley Lutheran (9-4 West) and a Hemlock (10-3 West) loss to Seminary. 

“I’m flabbergasted,” said Thompson, who spent seven years as an Ithaca assistant coach before taking over as head coach. “In seven years, that’s as clean of a four quarters as we’ve ever played.”

It’s a bold statement, considering Ithaca made a run to the Class C semifinals last season. But to Thompson, this was a bold win. 

“They did that against some highly skilled players,” said Thompson. “If you would have told me that would be a 30-point game, I’d have bet my mortgage on it, no way.”

‘The Team, The Team, The Team’

Thoughout the Yellowjackets season, Thompson has consistently praised his team’s character, and Friday was no different — except for the Bo Schembechler reference.

“In the year 2017, you’re dealing with different people in terms of how they go about their business,” he said. “Sometimes ‘the team, the team, the team’ isn’t the case anymore. On this team, that’s the furthest from the truth.

“All 13 get along, all 13 want to see each other do well. It’s a whole different dynamic, and it’s because they’ve been raised well. … To have 13 kids like that, it’s a dream.”

All of the Yellowjackets starters scored at least eight points against the Chargers. Baylee Chaffin led with 16, Levi Lehman had 15, Isaiah Hoag had 13, Joey Bentley had 10 and Peyton Smith had eight.

“You can’t get better production out of your five starters,” Thompson said. “Peyton Smith is a freshman playing point guard on a good team, and he’s holding his own.”

After losing Spence DeMull, Jake Smith and Nick Radak from last year’s playoff run, Thompson said he has been impressed with the transition.

“I thought coming to the season in there would be some growing pains,” he said. “I’m very happy for all those kids. All 13 players play an unbelievable role. The kids that aren’t playing are doing the right thing, being supportive.

“There’s no ego on this team. Everything we’ve been talking about, everything we’ve been working on and tried to get these kids to buy into – they’ve done it and one-upped it.”

Look Ahead

The Yellowjackets have a busy week next week. They take on rival Alma on Monday, then turn around for a make-up game with Pinconning (0-18, 0-12 West) on Tuesday. They also play the Spartans on Friday.

A win in either of the Pinconning games clinches an outright league title for Ithaca.

“It’s kind of scary,” said Thompson, of the week ahead. “But we’ve got a resilient group, and they’ve done some neat things. … I’m very happy for this group.

“We’re getting better at the right time.”