With an undefeated region record now in the books for the Jefferson Dragons, the next goal is to continue their winning ways in region tournament play.
There’s also the matter of exacting a little revenge. Last year, the Dragons went out in the first round of eliminations after losing to Union County.
The number one seeded Dragons will open region tournament play on Friday at Dawson County, where they’ll face the winner of a matchup between Union County and Fannin County.
Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.
Banks County
The Dragons traveled to Homer to face the Leopards of Banks County last Tuesday.
Jefferson took control early, moving out to a 14-9 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Dragons would then break out in the second quarter, scoring 24 points while holding the Leopards to six points to carry a 38-15 lead into the half.
Banks County would start the second half by outscoring the Dragons, albeit by just a few points, 16-14, as Jefferson held a 52-31 advantage at the end of the third quarter. The Dragons would put the game away in the fourth, scoring 26 points to the Leopards’ 14, to bring home the 78-45 victory.
“It was a good game for us,” said coach Bolling DuBose. “I thought our kids played well both offensively and defensively. Our fast break worked all night, our press worked and I just thought we did a good job.”
J. J. Damons led in scoring with 21 points. Darius Minor scored 11 on the night. David Watson, Hoytes Damons and Andrew Bartek each scored eight points.
“I’ve been real pleased lately that we’ve been getting a lot of people involved in offense,” DuBose said. “We’re not just relying on J.J. and Darius to carry us every game. We’ve got a lot of guys scoring seven, eight, nine points a game. I think that makes you a much more difficult team to defend when you get a lot of guys involved in offense like that.”
North Oconee
The Dragons closed out their regular season with a trip to North Oconee to face the Titans.
The Dragons moved out to a four-point lead early on, taking a 10-6 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Both teams were even in scoring though the second quarter, as both Jefferson and North Oconee scored 17 points in the quarter. North Oconee took the lead briefly late in the quarter, going up 23-22. Jefferson would retake the lead before the half, to make it a 27-23 ballgame.
Jefferson began to stretch their advantage in the third quarter, scoring 13 points while holding the Titans to seven to make it a 10-point game, 40-30, at the end of the quarter. The Dragons pulled out to a sizable lead in the fourth to put the game away, scoring 25 points while holding North Oconee to just six. Jefferson came away with a 65-36 victory.
J.J. Damons led Jefferson in scoring with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Rayshad Borders scored nine points on the night.
For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Jackson Herald.
