Huge third quarter boosts Eagles over Panthers

Tightening down defensively were Patrick O’Connor and Koby Stoll who helped Jefferson’s press in the third quarter to blow away Pattonsburg in a 54-39 win Thursday to put the Eagles in the Albany Tournament championship. The Eagles will play Saturday night at 8:30 p.m.

The Jefferson Eagles boys basketball team led the Pattonsburg Panthers the entire game, but it was their huge third quarter that allowed them to coast to a 54-39 win Thursday night in Albany.

The win allows the Eagles to advance on to the Albany Tournament championship, which will be played at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday against the winner of Stanberry and Worth County.

Jefferson coach Tim Jermain said he was pleased with the complete performance put out by his team despite seeing some of the early-season mistakes he anticipates being polished up in the coming weeks.

“Where we made the biggest improvements since we’ve started practicing was defensively,” he said. “When we first started the season I thought we were going to have to do some things better, but since then I’ve felt like we’ve been playing much better defensively.”

Jermain added that he was pleased with his team’s possessions, adding that young teams don’t always value the importance of good possessions. Jermain said he thought they maintained theirs better against Pattonsburg than they have yet this season.

Nate Jermain’s first of five 3-pointers in the win capped off Jefferson’s 14-7 lead over Pattonsburg to jet out to an early start. The lead frustrated Pattonsburg, who almost seemed confused that their height advantage didn’t seem to be a factor against the press and ball handling put forth by the Eagles.

Another 3-pointer by Jermain sparked what looked to be another promising quarter, but Pattonsburg responded with a six-point run to chip away at Jefferson’s lead. It was yet another Jermain 3-pointer that reignited the Eagles who rebuilt a seven-point lead by halftime. Jefferson entered the locker room up 27-20 over the Panthers.

Jermain’s final two 3-pointers of the night were combined with Steven Chor’s first of a pair as the Eagles amassed a 19-4 third quarter on Pattonsburg to blow away any chance of a comeback.

Six of the eight total scorers for Jefferson made baskets in the third quarter as the Panthers struggled to stop up their defensive leaks.

“I thought we were fortunate there in the second quarter because Chase Farnan and Clayton Merrigan sat out much of it because of foul trouble,” Jermain said. “We talked a lot about coming out of the locker room focused because I felt like we should have had a bigger lead. I thought our defensive intensity really turned up after that.”

The Panthers trailed the Eagles 46-24 into the final quarter.

A seven-point run by Pattonsburg came off a slow-tempo Jefferson team, but the Eagles regained control of the game and rode out the game with the extended lead they’d built.

Jermain finished the night with 17 total points to lead the team. Following him was Chase Farnan with 10 points, Chor with eight points, Clayton Merrigan and Clayton Wilmes each with seven points, Patrick O’Connor and Dalton Luke with two points each and Koby Stoll with a point.

Patrick O’Connor splits two Pattonsburg defenders on his way to a layup for Jefferson in the first half.

Jefferson’s Chase Farnan swats down a layup attempt by a Panther player in the dominating third quarter for the Eagles.

Steven Chor moves the ball across midfield for Jefferson despite pressure from the incoming Pattonsburg defender.