Bigger Dragons control boards, beat Jefferson
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
Jefferson junior forward Corby Walker drives to the rim during the Eagles’ 60-50 loss to Mid-Buchanan in Thursday night’s North Platte Invitational semifinal matchup. The Eagles will play for third place at 1 p.m. Saturday.
You can’t teach size, and Mid-Buchanan has a lot of it. The Dragons used it to their advantage to claim a 60-50 win over the Jefferson boys’ basketball team Thursday night in the semifinals of the North Platte Invitational.
“We just had a really hard time keeping them off the boards, and they do a good job of getting it to those post players in there,” Jefferson head coach Tim Jermain said. “Not only are they big, they’re pretty mobile. They’re not big slugs in there. They’re pretty good.”
Despite the loss, Jermain is focusing on the positives that came out of Thursday night’s game, such as hanging with the Dragons, the No. 6-ranked team in Class 2 for the majority of the evening. A couple big Mid-Buchanan spurts proved to be the difference.
“There’s lots of positives from that game,” Jermain said. “A couple spurts that didn’t go our way, but for the most part I think we have to take a lot of positives. These guys have high expectations, but I think it is important for us to look at the positives.”
After junior forward Corby Walker hit a three-pointer 16 seconds into the game, Mid-Buchanan answered with its first spurt, a 9-0 run that lasted until the 4:43 mark of the first quarter when sophomore center Caden Farnan knocked down a jumper from the free throw line.
Back-to-back Dragon threes from Garet Moulden and Braydn Kemper around the six-minute mark polished off the Dragons their second spurt — a 10-0 run to push their lead to 20-7 to open the second quarter.
A layup from junior forward Bryce Deen followed by two free throws from Walker and a steal and two more freebies from sophomore guard Grant Meyer closed the margin to 26-20 with 1:57 left in the opening half.
After a Mid-Buchanan basket, junior point guard Ben Jermain canned a buzzer-beating three-pointer to cut the halftime deficit down to five points, 28-23.
“That’s been kind of our strength. I think we’ve faced adversity,” Tim Jermain said. “We talk about it all the time. There’s probably going to be adversity in games and how you respond to it defines how our team does. I thought they did a good job of responding to it.”
After a Dragon bucket and a three-pointer from sophomore guard Michael Burch cut the margin to four. Then the Dragons’ size advantage kicked in as they got to the offensive boards for several possessions with second and third shots, wearing down the Eagles and building a 49-31 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
“When they penetrated our defense, we really struggled to rebound then,” Tim Jermain said. “They got into the heart of it because he had to help on the penetration and then getting back and rebounding’s really tough. They jump a little higher than we do, and that was a big thing for them (getting multiple shots). They did a great job getting to the offensive boards.”
Mid-Buchanan’s three forwards — Austin Scaggs (17), Hunter Scaggs (11) and Moulden (10) each finished in double figures, as did Kemper with 15 points.
Jefferson (11-7) never went away, however, whittling the lead to 11 on a three-pointer by junior guard Jason Sullivan with 6:04 to play. Farnan, who scored a game-high 18 points, cut the deficit back into single-digits with 3:15 to play, 51-42, on a spinning layup.
“I’ve said it since Christmas really, that he’s really making steps in a positive direction,” Tim Jermain said of Farnan. “I know there’s times that he’s been frustrated, but it’s like I told him the other night, ‘We’re going to keep throwing it to you because you’re getting better and better and those things are going to pay off. … I’ve seen it in practice, it was just nice to see it tonight in a game.”
The closest Jefferson would get was eight, 55-47, on a three-pointer by Walker, who finished with eight points, with 1:38 left before the Dragons knocked down a handful of free throws. Burch’s third triple of the night, which gave him 11 points, also cut the deficit to eight, 58-50, but two more freebies finished it off.
The Eagles will take on the winner of Thursday night’s Mound City-West Platte game in the third place game at 1 p.m. Saturday in Dearborn.
“A few years back when we were able to get into this tournament, that was out goal: to get in a tournament where traditionally we’ve gotten three really good games out of it,” Tim Jermain said. “We’re looking forward to having another good game on Saturday.”
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
Jefferson junior forward Bryce Deen battles through contact on his way to the basket in the Eagles’ 60-50 loss to Mid-Buchanan Thursday night in the North Platte Invitational semifinals.
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
Jefferson sophomore guard Michael Burch launches a corner three-pointer in the first half of Jefferson’s 60-50 loss to Mid-Buchanan Thursday night in the North Platte Invitational. Burch knocked down three three-pointers and scored XX points on the night.
JASON LAWRENCE/DAILY FORUM
Jefferson sophomore center Caden Farnan tries to get his shot up between a pair of Mid-Buchanan defenders Thursday night. The Dragons used their size advantage to claim a 60-50 win in the North Platte Invitational semifinals.
