Jefferson will wrap up their regular season on Friday with a trip to North Oconee to face the 4-7 Titans, who are currently ranked fourth in the subregion.
Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.
Dawson County
The Dragons started off a strong week on Tuesday with a home stand against Dawson County. The Tigers came to town hoping to snap a seven game losing streak.
Jefferson took control early, and by the half, held a 31-22 lead. The Dragons had the opportunity to stretch that lead in the third quarter, and put the game away early.
But that didn’t happen, as Dawsonville made a surprising run, outscoring Jefferson 7-6.
“Offensively, we took some bad shots, got out of sync a little bit, and we quit running with the ball,” said coach Bolling DuBose. “When we don’t run with the ball, we don’t tend to shoot the ball very well. I thought the third quarter was not a good effort offensively.”
Despite the slip by Jefferson, they still led 37-29 at the end of the third.
The fourth quarter made all the difference, as the Dragons outscored the Tigers 19-10, taking home the 56-39 victory.
Darius Minor led the team in scoring with 15 points, while Demetri Robinson scored seven, and J.J. Damons and Jamie Sexton scored six each.
“It was a typical game that we’ve had against the other subregion teams this season,” DuBose said. “I really expected Dawson County to hold the ball a little more than they did. If we get them in the tournament, I’m sure we’ll see them hold the ball more than they did.
“It was a pretty good game for us. I thought defensively we played really well.”
Oglethorpe Co.
Next up for the Dragons was a trip to Oglethorpe County to face the Patriots. In their last meeting, Jefferson had dominated the game, winning 65-18. With that in mind, it appeared Jefferson would have a smooth game ahead.
The Patriots, however, had other plans.
After jumping out to an early 13-2 lead, Oglethorpe began fighting back, and by the end of the first quarter, the Patriots had cut the score down to 17-13. In the second quarter, the game went back and forth, with the Patriots tying the score 34-34 by the half.
In the third quarter, Oglethorpe took control of the game, outscoring the Dragons 16-12, holding a 50-46 lead going into the fourth quarter. Jefferson didn’t give up, and started clawing their way back into the game. With three minutes left, the Dragons found themselves down by four. With 30 seconds left, Jefferson took the lead, and was up by three when the Patriots hit a shot, cutting the lead to one point with 20 seconds left. As close as they were, Oglethorpe could not find the opportunity they needed, as Jefferson won 61-60.
Minor again led in scoring with 23 points, while Cody Smith had 10 and Chris Beck had eight. Derek Milsap had a tip-in with about 35 seconds left that ended up being the difference in the game.
“Offensively, I thought we played pretty well,” DuBose said. “We were running with the ball, we were taking good shots. Defensively, their quickness gave us some problems. They do have a lot of quickness out front with their guards. We were having a hard time stopping them. They made some key shots in the second quarter to get them back in the game.”
DuBose also pointed to the performances of Tyler Bailey and Tate Chesser of the bench as being a key in Jefferson winning.
“It was a tough win for us. You have to give Oglethorpe credit. I thought they played great.”
East Jackson
Saturday night at JHS was a big one for several reasons.
It was a rematch with in-county rival East Jackson, who sits number two in the subregion. The previous game between the two teams had been a spirited, exciting affair.
A win for Jefferson would make them 6-0 in the region, and lock in their status as the number one seed in next week’s region tournament.
It was also senior night, which is always an emotional one for the players.
With a packed gym, every senior started the game, adding Tab Martin and Demetri Robinson to the starting lineup, joining usual starters Chris Beck, Cody Smith and Derek Milsap.
But the excitement of the night may have been a hindrance early on, as the Eagles jumped out to a 13-2 lead early in the first quarter. A decision to go to a man-to-man defense halfway through the quarter proved to be a good one, as the Dragons cut the lead to 17-10 by the end of the quarter.
Jefferson then went on to outscore East Jackson in the second quarter, and by the half, held a 29-24 lead.
The Dragons stretched that lead to 45-32 in the third quarter, outscoring East Jackson 16-8. Late in the fourth quarter, the Eagles cut the lead to 11 points, but couldn’t’ get any closer, as Jefferson won 59-48.
Minor led in scoring with 17 points, while Beck and Martin both scored 10.
For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Jackson Herald.
