JEFFERSON players in the deeper portions of the depth chart didn’t have to wait very long to see their first basketball action of the year.
Ten players scored in the Dragons’ 63-47 season-opening win over Heritage and all 14 who dressed got on the floor.
“One of the things about us playing so many people is that I thought we wore them down,” said coach Bolling DuBose, who’s in his 36th year. “And the longer the game went, the less they shot the ball well.”
Jefferson controlled the game after the first quarter, outscoring the Class AAAA Patriots 44-28 the rest of the way as the host Dragons opened the Tabo’s Tip-Off Tournament with a win.
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Austin Thompson, the team’s leading returning scorer from last year, tallied 16 points to lead the Dragons (1-0).
Bryant Shirreffs added 11 points. His three-pointer with 3:45 left in the third quarter gave the Dragons a 45-32 edge, their biggest lead of the game at that point. First-year varsity player Tyler Patrick also chipped in 11 points. His put-back with 35 seconds left in the third quarter gave Jefferson a 52-36 lead. Willie Taylor, another first-year varsity player, closed the third quarter with a buzzer-beating three-pointer, pushing the Dragons’ lead to 19.
Jefferson led by as much as 23 points in the final period.
“We did not shoot the ball as well as we can, but that’s not a big issue right now,” DuBose said. “We’re going to have nights once we get into basketball shape with everybody where we’ll shoot the ball great … We’re going to have nights where we’ll just light it up. But I told them, regardless of how you shoot it, you win games in other ways if you’re not shooting the ball well. I thought we did that tonight (Saturday).”
DuBose said his team played smarter in the second half, reducing its number of fouls while also handling Heritage’s press better.
“I think those two things helped us to stretch the lead out,” he said.
Jefferson was able to empty the rest of its bench with the large lead, though many of the Dragons’ subs had gotten into the game earlier when Jefferson found itself in first-half foul trouble.
“I didn’t go into the game expecting to play all 14 … We went out there and started fouling so quickly,” DuBose said.
Heritage started with the hot hand, hitting three three-pointers in the first quarter to take a 16-12 edge. But Jefferson pulled even at 19 when Patrick scored with eight seconds left in the period.
The Dragons then took the lead for good when Andre Daniel buried a jumper at the 6:20 mark in the second quarter, putting Jefferson ahead 22-20. From there, Jefferson’s depth took over.
“I just really like the attitude with this bunch and the effort that they give,” DuBose said. “It was great to play all 14 guys.”
