Members of the Jamestown Community College men’s basketball team, in front, from left, are: Joseph Ross, Brian Fajardo, Kareem O’Brian, Elgin Oliver, Jafar Yahuza, Clinique Jackson and Nekwon Scott. In back are: assistant coach Jim Rissel, Josiah Ransom, Bam Toure, Traden Gray, Ivan Tribaldo, Gonzalo Luque, Keon Armstrong, Nate Adams, Josh Bowmer, head coach Xavier Churnac and assistant coach Reggie Smith Jr. Submitted photo

Things will look to get back to normal for the Jamestown Community College men’s basketball team after playing in a COVID-19-shortened season during the 2020-21.

Head Coach Xavier Churnac, entering his third season at the helm, is happy to get back to a regular routine when it comes to a schedule. He is also excited with the group of student-athletes who he brought in to help compete for a Region 3 championship.

“We’re excited about the upcoming season, especially with the recruitment we have done when it comes to size, talent, and potential,” said Churnac. “We have a lot of room to grow this season and it will be nice to play other teams within the region other than one team five times.”

That turned out to be the case last season when the Jayhawks played Niagara County CC five times, including once in the NJCAA Region 3 championship game.

The Jayhawks will start the season at home against CC of Beaver County on Saturday while hosting Houghton College the following Wednesday (Nov. 10). After the opening week of the season, the Jayhawks will play seven games on the road, including the Garrett College Classic (Nov. 12-13), at Lakeland CC (Nov. 17), a trip to Baltimore (Nov. 19-20), and ending it with trips to Genesee CC (Nov. 23) and Lorain County CC (Nov. 30).

With the seven-game stretch on the road, Churnac knows that his team will have to learn to balance the travel and get in the right mindset.

“We have to have a road-warrior mentality,” Churnac said. “They have to understand that we are going into someone else’s building and we’re all we’ve got. We’ve got to have each other’s backs. It will be a good test for us at the beginning of the season.”

After a tough road trip, the Jayhawks will end the first half of the semester with four of their last six games at the Physical Education Complex including their matchup against West Virginia University Potomac State College in The Post-Journal Classic (Dec. 5). Jamestown CC closes out season with games against Lorain County CC (Dec. 16) and Lakeland CC (Dec.18).

After the semester break, the Jayhawks will travel to Butler County CC (Jan. 14) before returning home for a Region 3 game against Erie CC (Jan. 22). JCC will then hit the road for regional games against Niagara County CC (Jan. 26) and Monroe CC (Jan. 29).

Jamestown CC will return home for a game against Villa Maria College (Jan. 31) before closing out the regular season with six regional games, including a three-game homestand against Niagara County CC (Feb. 5), Monroe CC (Feb. 9), and Erie CC (Feb. 12).

Closing out the season with games at Niagara County CC (Feb. 16) and Monroe CC (Feb. 19), the Jayhawks will move into the NJCAA Region 3 championship tournament held on Feb. 26-27.

“I’m excited to get back to a regular schedule against all of the Region 3 opponents,” said Churnac. “With the roster we have, I think that we will be able to compete with everyone in every game. That was our mindset in recruitment. We have a few guys who have seen what the other teams have done in our league, but we are young overall.”

Churnac was referring to sophomore guard Josh Bowmer (Kiama, New South Wales, Australia/Kiama HS), who was on the team during the 2019-20 season, and sophomore guard Jafar Yahuza (Staten Island/Port Richmond) and freshman guard/forward Josiah Ransom (Orange Park, Florida/Helena), who were both on the team last season.

“One guy that stands out to me right now is Gonzalo (Luque),” Churnac said of the Madrid player, “He has performed well in the scrimmages and is a guy that can play multiple positions for us, very versatile. Nekwon (Scott) has also been a guy who has proven himself and has been consistent.”

Freshman forward Gonzalo Luque (Madrid, Spain/Instituto Ortega y Gasset) and freshman guard Nekwon Scott (Petersburg, Virginia/Moravin Prep) will be the ones to get the team going in the right direction, along with guards Kareem O’Brian (West Babylon/North Babylon), Christian Ellis (Van Vleck, Texas/Van Vleck), and Bam Toure (Jamaica /St. Johns Prep).

“We have a good mix of local, national and international talent,” Churnac added. “I’m excited and ready to go.”

The local talent includes freshman Traden Gray (Frewsburg/Frewsburg) with guards Brian Fajardo (Bronx/Aeci Charter), Clinique Jackson (Rochester/East) along with forward Keon Armstrong (Chatham/Chatham) all coming from New York. Guard Elgin Baylor (Monroeville, Pennsylvania/Gateway) and Joseph Ross (Houston, Texas/Jack Yates) round out the out-of-state crew, with center Ivan Tribaldo (Madrid, Spain/Instituto Ortega y Gasset) rounding out the international players.