Yancy, L-W East Boys Basketball Make Statement With Medieval Championship Performance

Call it a coming-out party, call it an announcement to the rest of the south suburban boys basketball scene, call it anything you want. Jay Yancy made a statement in the championship game of the Medieval Classic Thursday night at Lincoln-Way East, and he did it with style.

Yancy led the Griffins with 25 points, including five 3-pointers, to lead East past Lincoln-Way North 61-50.

“I was just feeling it, I felt like I could hit the big shot. When we just needed a bucket, I felt I could hit it, so I took it,” Yancy said.

The 6-foot-3-inch guard was quick to downplay his output in the game and heaped praise on his teammates.

“A couple other players hit some big shots, like (Ryan) Hayes and Gavin (Walsh), and Joel (Magrum) got some big rebounds for us,” Yancy said. “So, it was just a team effort. I came out with the most points, but it was a team effort.”

Lincoln-Way East coach Rich Kolimas said that when a player like Yancy gets going, it's easy to let things go.

“Sometimes in a game like this, you get a little excited,” Kolimas said. “Sometimes Jay's shots were a little far out, but obviously with a kid with his sort of ability, you let him go a little bit. He took it upon himself to lead us by his actions and by his play. It's coming around for Jay.”

Though Yancy was the big point scorer on the night, Lincoln-Way North coach John Terry said that East's Princeton offense was a big factor as well. He added that despite the loss, he was much happier with his team's play during the tournament than the previous week.

“There's no doubt about it, my team is improving, our team is improving,” Terry said. “Lots of one-point losses, lots of overtime losses. Last week, I felt like digging a hole and falling into the hole. This week, I feel pretty good about what's going on. We're improving every single game. We're getting better.”