Story Photos
 Mark Morris' Jyles Petersen launches an off-balance 3-pointer that tied the Monarchs' Class 2A state semifinal game against Ephrata at the Tacoma Dome in early March. Greg Ebersole / The Daily News
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Monarchs' Petersen headed to LCC
Wednesday, June 4, 2008 9:45 PM PDT
By Rick McCorkle
Printable version
E-mail this articleA long-range shooter who proved his mettle during the Class 2A Boys State Basketball Championships in March has agreed to bring his talents to Lower Columbia College beginning this fall.
Jyles Petersen, who helped top-ranked Mark Morris to its eighth consecutive Greater St. Helens 2A League title, its fifth straight District 4 crown and a third-place finish in the state tournament, will give the LCC backcourt a lift with his outside shooting and ability to slash to the basket and dish off.
“Jyles has a lot of heart and is one of the scrappiest players you’ll ever see,” LCC coach Jim Roffler said. “When you’re 5-8, you need a level of maturity and strength to go along with it. We’ll be getting him into the weight room this summer so he can gain strength and muscle, so he won’t get pushed around.”
Petersen joins fellow MM standout Matt Trautman, Castle Rock’s Clint Burgoyne, returning center Alex King and redshirt sophomore Ryan Freeman on next year’s LCC team.
“I’ve known Coach Roffler for a long time,” Petersen said. “LCC has had a good program for the last several years, and that helped sway my decision. I’ve been working out with the guys from LCC, and learning from him has been great.”
Petersen was MM’s third-leading scorer at 12.1 points per game and made his mark in the state tournament when he scored 27 points and drilled seven 3-pointers in the semifinals against Ephrata, including an off-balance bomb in the closing seconds of regulation that sent the game to overtime.
“Jyles has shown he has good shooting range and can step back beyond the 3-point line and stretch the defense,” Roffler said. “He’s the consummate gym rat who wants to (compete), and has known his whole life that he wants to play college basketball.”
Petersen admits he’ll have to work hard to compete at the collegiate level.
“I’m not as strong as I could be, but this summer working out with coach every day at 6 a.m. will help me, as well as getting into the weight room as much as possible,” he said. “I figure I’ll be coming off the bench because I’m a first-year guy and because of my size. Every team needs a player who comes off the bench and is a scorer, and I can be that guy for LCC.”
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