Late Jefferson run pushes Eagles past Trojans
DAVID MERRILL/DAILY FORUM
Jefferson’s Caden Farnan (52) and Chase Farnan guard Nodaway-Holt’s Brody Day as he goes up for a layup on Friday. Caden Farnan scored 30 points in a 69-58 Eagles’ win.
CONCEPTION JUNCTION — For three quarters, it looked as if the boys’ basketball game between Jefferson and Nodaway-Holt could be won by either team.
The Eagles switched from man-to-man defense to a zone in the fourth quarter, however, and it helped them pull away for a 69-58 win.
“They switched to that zone and we just didn’t score the ball as much as we needed to,” Nodaway-Holt coach Kevin Dodson said. “We took a lot of quick shots, which resulted in us playing a lot of defense.”
Nodaway-Holt held a 20-19 lead going into the second quarter before the Eagles’ Grant Meyer hit a 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer to give his team a 36-31 lead going into the break.
Naturally, the two teams played to a 52-52 tie after three quarters and the Eagles switched into their zone.
Jefferson’s Nathan Jermain said the switch came after allowing the Trojans (11-11, 4-7 275) to score too many points in the paint up until that point.
“We definitely gave up a lot of layups that we didn’t need,” he said. “At the end of the game, I feel like we really kind of shut them off when we switched to the zone.”
Brody Day hit a 3-pointer for the Trojans at the 3 minute, 27 second-mark in the fourth quarter to cut the Eagles’ lead to 59-56, but Jefferson kept forcing its way inside and getting to the foul line.
Caden Farnan, Michael Burch, and Jermain combined to make nine free throw attempts in the final 3 minutes to put the game away.
Jefferson (17-6, 11-0 275) coach Tim Jermain said the team likes its chances when it steps to the charity stripe.
“They’re a pretty confident bunch when it comes to the free-throw line because they do a great job in practice. I have all the confidence in the world in them when we step up there late in the game.”
With just a couple conference games left on the schedule before district tournament play starts, Tim Jermain said his team’s health is the biggest focus down the stretch.
“We have a little bit of a lead in the conference, but [winning conference] is the first thing,” he said. “We also have to get healthy. We’ve had so much sickness that it’s probably been a week since we’ve practiced with everybody. Getting everybody back healthy is something we need to get done, hopefully this weekend.”
Caden Farnan paced the Eagle offense with 30 points while Michael Burch had 15 and Jermain added 12. Farnan added six rebounds to while Burch had four steals and three assists.
Brody Day led the Trojans with 18 to go with 15 points from Tucker Schwebach and 10 from Kaiden Vance. Carey Volner had seven points and six rebounds as well as a block. Schwebach also tallied four steals.
Jefferson will try and keep its perfect conference record alive when it hosts West Nodaway on Tuesday.
SCORING SUMMARY
JEFFERSON (17-6, 11-0 275): Ca. Farnan 30, Burch 15, Jermain 12, Merrigan 7, Meyer 3, Ch. Farnan 2. TOTALS: 15 10-11 69. 3-pointer: 5 (Burch 2, Meyer 1, Jermain 1, Merrigan 1).
NODAWAY-HOLT (11-11, 4-7 275): Day 18, Schwebach 15, Vance 10, Volner 7, Chestnut 6, Walker 3. TOTALS: 17 3-5 58. 3-pointers: 3 (Vance 2, Volner).
PHOTO COURTESY OF TERRI JERMAIN
Jefferson’s Caden Farnan (52), Chase Farnan (34) and Nathan Jermain battle for a rebound with Nodaway-Holt’s Brody Day on Friday. Jefferson won 69-58.
DAVID MERRILL/DAILY FORUM
Nodaway-Holt’s Zach Walker goes up for a layup as Jefferson’s Nathan Jermain gives chase on Friday. The Eagles pulled away from the Trojans late to win 69-58.
DAVID MERRILL/DAILY FORUM
Nodaway-Holt’s Zach Walker goes for a rebound against Jefferson’s Nathan Jermain on Friday. Jefferson came away with the 69-58 win.
DAVID MERRILL/DAILY FORUM
Nodaway-Holt’s James Chestnut looks for an open teammate while being guarded by Caden Farnan (right) and Chase Farnan. Clayton Merrigan (40) also waits ready to intercept the pass. The Eagles won 69-58 on Friday.
