BOYS' BASKETBALL: Jefferson jumps on Panthers in first quarter in dominating ...

Jefferson coach Kevin Morris burned an early first-quarter timeout and delivered a fiery message to his team that it needed to pick up its defensive effort.
Morris’s words apparently resonated.
After play resumed, the Dragons (15-9, 7-5 Region 8-AAA) went on a 19-5 run, building a 20-point lead after a quarter, in an 80-58 win over Jackson County Friday.
“We got a little bit better after that,” Morris said of the timeout.
Five Jefferson players reached double figures in the win, which followed a close road loss to Hart County Tuesday. Malaki Starks, Donsha Gaither and Daniel Parker each scored 13 points. Kam Robinson added 11 points, and Jacob Radaker finished with 10 points.
Morris was particularly pleased with the first two quarters of play in running out to a 47-21 lead.
“I thought we did a much better job the first half tonight,” Morris said. “The second half, we didn’t do so well, but I thought first half, we were focused. I thought we did a good job of finding the open man, and it always helps when you knock down shots.”
The Dragons’ big first-quarter ended with Gaither draining a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give Jefferson a 31-11 lead. The Dragons led 37-20 late in the second quarter before Daniel Parker hit a 3-pointer to spark a 10-1 run going into halftime, giving the team a 47-21 lead at the midway point. Jefferson pushed the lead out to 30 points twice in the third quarter before taking a 71-42 lead into the final period.
Still, Morris wasn’t thrilled with the Dragons’ second half.
“I thought we lost our focus a little bit, up 29 at the end of the third quarter,” he said. “I don’t think that was great, but that’s going to happen a lot of times.”
Kalib Clinton led Jackson County with 25 points, and senior Cam Shaw added 18 points on the Panthers’ senior night.
“They’ve got two really good players,” Morris said. “We knew those guys weren’t going to come out, and if they were going to play the whole game, then they were going to work the whole game. And they did. (Shaw) and (Clinton) are freaking batterers. They’re good players.”
Jefferson will open play in the region tournament Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. at Hart County against the winner of the No. 6 seed vs. No. 7 seed play-in game Monday. Jackson County (11-14, 1-11 Region 8-AAA) is the No. 7 seed.