Bob Jensen keeps it all bottled up, his true feelings always concealed behind an emotionless mug and Lindhurst High windbreaker. He doesn’t yell during games and any grand pantomimes are shelved in lieu of kneeling down and staring stoically upon the court. During a huge moment in last night’s game against Marysville, Cedrick Thomas wanted to crack a smile so bad,  but held up on flashing any teeth so Jensen wouldn’t get mad.

I’ve only seen the Blazers boys basketball coach show emotion one time: It was postgame, and his forlorn face dropped my jaw to the bleachers. Come tip-off, he goes Mona Lisa. But even the Mid-Valley’s quietest coach will admit he was worked up Wednesday.

“This game had me a little nervous; it’s always tough place to play and there’s so much at stake,” he said.

A little nervous? On the Jensen Scale, that is seismic. It’s like saying a Ferrari’s “a little” fast or a Big Mac is “a little” fattening. It’s also perfectly understandable. Anyone in Blazers’ apparel at Lesta Joubert Gym had  to be sweating “a little” during Wednesday’s 48-47 tense-a-thon of a victory over Marysville.

This was a win the Blazers needed for so many different reasons: 1) They had to beat Marysville to clinch the Golden Empire League. 2) If Lindhurst wants a home playoff game, beating the Indians is the penultimate step. 3) IT’S MARYSVILLE.

Aside from the usual local rivalry hype, Lindhurst needed this win for their own confidence. The Indians shocked many (including me) when they stuffed it to the Blazers at their homecomming earlier this year. If the Blazers fell for a second time to the Indians despite their glaringly obvious height and athleticism advantages, it would have doomed this young team come postseason.

“This would have been a really crushing loss,” Jensen said.

It wasn’t, barely. Marysville’s far tougher than its 2-7 league record shows. When the Indians play the way coach Mark Wright wants, they’re going to scrap and perimeter shoot their way into your head. Marysville had the lead – however slim – after each of the first three quarters. A couple missed free throws were an anchor to their upset hopes, but Wright demurred the chance to criticize the obvious.

Besides, how can anyone expect this to happen?

That “shot” by Thomas, the one where he forced himself not to smile, tied the game at 46-46. After Marysville hit 1 of 2 free throws following a loose ball foul, it gave Miguel French time to score the most-important basket of his burgeoning  prep career and give Lindhurst “a little” reason to celebrate.

Lindhurst is a young team with tremendous upside and winning the GEL is the validation it needed, regardless of how close it came to another shocking upset. When all the key components are juniors or younger, the freshly earned 2011 banner bodes well for everyone’s hypothesis that they’ll become otherworldly as they mature. Wednesday’s game took place in an atmosphere that is unlike anything they’ll face in the playoffs. Marysville’s gym was packed and rocking, the noise making my iPhone shake as I tried to record some video. Winning there, even if it took a little luck and a nice play in the final eight seconds, was big for this team.

As for those in the stands, it the game “a little” enjoyable to watch.

–Ryan Klocke

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