Subscribe

SONGNAM, South Korea — Jamal Mohn never scored in double figures on Seoul American’s junior varsity team last season. The sophomore’s first varsity appearance Wednesday was a different story.

Mohn, a backup point guard, scored a game-high 24 points and recorded eight steals as defending Far East large schools champion Seoul American defeated Seoul International 87-44 in the Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference opener.

“It was a big night for him,” coach Steve Boyd said of Mohn, who spelled starting point guard Jay Higgins. Each played about half the game.

“I was glad to see it because we’re going to need it down the road. But he really stepped up big.”

“He’s deceptive being as small as he is,” Boyd said of the 5-foot-6 Mohn. “He does everything on athleticism, quickness, speed and sheer ability. He amazed me tonight. And he’s still learning. He’s a pure raw talent.”

Higgins, almost a foot taller at 6-5, had seven points, 14 rebounds and five assists. Newcomer Jake Abramowitz had 13 points and nine rebounds in 16 minutes. Luis Feliciano and Cory Fisher each scored nine points and combined for 17 rebounds.

“Really balanced scoring,” Boyd said, adding that while the Falcons took a 20-2 lead, the team looked a bit “ragged” at times.

The Falcons had 24 turnovers.

“Any time you play that many kids, you lose a bit of the chemistry that you had” at the start, Boyd said. “I started subbing a bit and we lost the continuity that we had.”

Wednesday also was the Falcons’ first game in two seasons without Nino Etienne, last year’s Class AA MVP; and point guard Chris Glasser; both graduated.

“You don’t replace an Etienne,” Boyd said. “I have what I consider my first five, but I have a good balanced rotation. Everybody in the lineup has somebody to spell them, and I haven’t had that, especially people with size. We’re a better overall team than we were last year.”

Sign Up for Daily Headlines

Sign up to receive a daily email of today's top military news stories from Stars and Stripes and top news outlets from around the world.

Sign Up Now