Jack Stucke knows his role. He is a backup guard expected to provide some spot minutes throughout the season.

His role changed on Saturday in the North Gwinnett’s season opener. He was thrown into the starting lineup, helping ignite the Bulldogs offense as it held on to beat Effingham County 69-66 at the Jared Cook Classic.

Stucke finished with a career-high 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting from three-point range. Most of his scoring was in the first half and it got North Gwinnett off to a start it needed.

Stucke knew he was replacing Tobias Howard in the starting lineup and was restless the entire night before the Bulldogs opener. This was something new for Stucke, who is expected to be a major contributor for the Bulldogs just not in the starting lineup.

Well, he didn’t let that faze him after knocking down his first two shots. Then Stucke got that shooter swag and just felt like he couldn’t miss.

“I just wanted to keep shooting,” said Stucke, who was 5-for-7 in the first half. “It was amazing.”

His teammates encouraged Stucke to do so.

“My man Jack held it down,” Howard said. “Before the game, I told him to let it ride and just shoot.”

Stucke’s shooting was late replaced by Howard’s creativity and ball-handling in the second half. Howard, who was benched for disciplinary reasons, gave North Gwinnett the scoring it is accustomed to seeing and a spark off the bench normally provided by Stucke.

Howard scored a team-high 18 points. He pushed the tempo of the offense and got to the basket with ease. The junior guard was in such a rhythm that Effingham County did not have an answer for him.

“I was focused on building on the team’s energy,” Howard said.

North Gwinnett needed all of this duo’s points to hold off the Rebels Jaakenan Gant.

The Missouri signee finished with 27 points, 12 of those in the second half as Effingham was looking to mount a comeback. Gant went to the basket with purpose or found teammates for scoring opportunities. The Rebels had an opportunity to tie the ball game but it’s 3-pointer at the buzzer fell short.

North Gwinnett could finally breath and everyone was congratulating Stucke for his performance.

“It feels different,” said Stucke. “I’m usually the one congratulating the guys after the game.”