Jefferson got 26 points from Austin Thompson and a stellar second-half effort from its defense in a 52-31 win over Oglethorpe County Tuesday.
The win vaulted the Dragons (11-7, 6-1) into a half-game lead in first place in Region 8-AA South.
“We did a much better job in the second half with our press,” coach Bolling DuBose said.
The Dragons have now won five in a row.
After struggling in the first half against the Patriots, Jefferson scored the first 18 points of the second half to pull away.
Offensively, DuBose praised the shot selection of Thompson, who attacked the basket most of the night. He also pointed to the bench play of Dustin Casey, who scored eight points.
•Jefferson (girls) 48, Oglethorpe Co. 27: The Jefferson (9-9, 3-4) girls picked up another subregion win with a Tuesday win over last-place Oglethorpe County.
The Lady Dragons have won two in a row. Skylar Evanson and Sarah Wood both scored in double figures to lead Jefferson.
“We didn’t play very well,” coach Jason Gibson said. “We were not very intense. We kind of strolled through the motions tonight (Tuesday).”
•North Oconee 62, East Jackson (boys) 56: East Jackson led 38-36 going into the fourth quarter Tuesday at North Oconee but couldn’t pull off a huge subregion road win. The Eagles (4-13, 0-6) were ahead 32-25 at the half.
“I didn’t think our defense was as good the second half as it was the first,” coach Brian Turner said.
Jake Grindle led the Eagles with 15 points while Casey Reed added 12 and John Heu finished with 11.
Turner tinkered with his lineups in this contest and believe he found things to build on despite the defeat.
“A lot of good things came out of it,” Turner said.
•North Oconee 39, East Jackson (girls) 24: East Jackson (3-14, 1-5) dropped its fifth-straight game Tuesday, losing in Bogart to North Oconee.
The Lady Eagles were held under 30 points for the fourth-straight game.
“We played really good ‘D’ but couldn’t get our offense going mainly due to turnovers,” coach Katie David said.
