Tip-off in Commerce is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
The week started with the Dragons traveling to Homer to face the Leopards of Banks County. Going in, both teams were 1-0 in the sub-region, and both had recorded at least 12 overall wins for the season.
Jefferson had an advantage in that the Leopards were missing three of their six strongest players, including their leading scorer who was sidelined with a broken ankle.
The Dragons came out strong, and both teams ran a fast game. Banks County had two players who were able to penetrate Jefferson’s zone in the first half, mainly due to the pace of the game, as the Leopards scored on fast breaks. Jefferson did a better job defensively in the second half and in the end, the Dragons came home with a 78-53 victory.
Darius Minor led Jefferson in scoring with 20 points, while Chris Beck, Demetri Robinson and J.J. Damons scored 10 points each.
Coach Bolling DuBose said that even considering the fact that Banks County was down three players, he felt it was a good win for the Dragons, especially since they were playing on the Leopards home court.
“I thought we played well on both ends of the floor,” he said. “They are one of the few teams in the region that likes to run the ball like we do, so it was a really fast-paced game. We had a lot of guys that were able to score because of the pace of the game.
“I was really worried about that game because they have been having a good season.”
Next was a trip across the county to face the Eagles of East Jackson. It was the first meeting of the two teams, which were both undefeated in the sub-region going in.
With a capacity crowd on hand, Jefferson found that the East Jackson crowd was looking to make a statement early as they moved out to an early lead. The Dragons came back and trailed by two, 8-6, at the end of the first quarter.
East Jackson answered by moving ahead again, with Jefferson trailing through the second quarter. With two minutes left in the half, the Dragons were down 25-18. Jefferson began to fight back again and when the buzzer sounded at the half, the score was tied 25-25.
Jefferson came out swinging in the third quarter, taking control of the court. The Dragons took the lead, and began to move out during the first four minutes of the game. With three minutes left, Jefferson led 42-34. But again, East Jackson fought back, and at the end of the quarter, Jefferson’s lead had been cut to five points, 45-40.
The Eagles continued to charge in the fourth quarter, and at one point tied the game, and took a 49-47 lead with five minutes remaining.
The Dragons kept their composure, and got the lead back, and moved out to between two and six points during the final moments.
East Jackson cut the lead to three with less than a minute left on the clock, but the Dragons stretched it back out to five, then hit a couple of free throws down the stretch to make the final 60-53.
Minor scored 27 points on the night, while J.J. Damons scored 10 and Renel Woods scored nine.
For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Jackson Herald.
