Jimmer drops 41 in Team Fredette’s Super 16 win

Team Fredette overcame another sluggish start to knock off the Fort Wayne Champs on Friday behind Jimmer’s hot shooting.

Jimmer Time is still alive and well.

The former BYU Basketball star poured in 41 points to help No. 2 seed Team Fredette advance to the quarterfinals of The Basketball Tournament, as they beat the No. 6 seed Fort Wayne Champs 104-91.

Fredette scored those 41 points on 13-21 shooting, including 6-11 from three-point range and 9-10 from the free throw line. That foul miss is the first of the tournament for Jimmer, as he’s now 31-32 through three games. He also grabbed eight rebounds and dished five assists.

Jimmer’s team started off slowly again, as Fort Wayne shot lights out in the first quarter, jumping out to a 34-20 lead after one period. Jimmer went 1-6 in that quarter.

From the second quarter on, though, he was lights out, shooting an eye-popping 12-15 from the field.

Team Fredette opened that second period on a 10-0 run to get back into the game, and the two teams went back and forth the rest of the half, with Jimmer’s team taking a 55-53 lead into the break.

It was all Team Fredette from there. They got early separation in the third quarter and never looked back, leading 89-72 going into the final period.

The Champs were able to cut into the lead a little before the Elam Ending took effect with just under four minutes to play. The score sat at 97-84 when the clock turned off, and the target score was set at 104.

Another mini-run by Fort Wayne brought the game to single digits, but Team Fredette pulled away and sealed the 104-91 win on a three-pointer by Jordon Crawford.

The biggest spark for Jimmer’s team came from Jeff Ledbetter. The sharpshooter from the University of Idaho finished with 17 points, including 8 of the team’s points in their 10-0 second quarter run.

Brandon Davies scored 11 points and added eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and two steals. Charles Abouo didn’t play much in this one, finishing with two points.

Former Utah Jazz big man Jack Cooley, who joined the team this week, finished with 8 points and 3 rebounds. He played limited minutes due to foul trouble.

With the win, Team Fredette advances to the quarterfinals of The Basketball Tournament. They’ll take on No. 1 seed Scarlet and Gray, a team of Ohio State alumni that includes recent addition Greg Oden. They took down No. 12 seed Prime Time Players on Friday night 72-60.

The quarterfinal match will tip off Sunday at 1:00pm ET, and fans can catch it on ESPN.