JEFFERSON —
The Jefferson Falcons used an 8-2 early run and an 8-0 late run, both in the first quarter, backed by hot shooting, to open a big lead on the Conneaut Spartans that reached double digits early, paving the way to a solid 65-47 Falcon win Tuesday night at Falcon Gym.
Nursing an early 4-2 lead, the Falcons ran off the 8-2 spurt, capped by a dunk by 6-foot-7 sophomore David Chase midway through the period. After an Amen Gerics hoop cut the lead to 18-14 with 1:35 left, Connor Cleveland (20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals) drained a 3-pointer to start the 8-0 run and capped it with another trey as Jefferson hit 10 of 16 shots in the quarter to take a 26-15 lead.
“Johnny Knight and Connor Cleveland were attacking the basket well tonight, especially early in the game,” Falcons coach Jeremy Huber said. “We were shooting the ball well, had good ball movement and got some good shots.”
Cleveland scored 10 of his game-high 20 in that first period, and Knight added nine of his 15 by hitting all four shots he took, including one 3-pointer.
The Falcons cooled off only slightly in the second quarter, nailing half of their 10 shots in taking a 38-18 halftime lead, and the teams traded spurts of scoring and turnovers the rest of the way as Jefferso— which won by one game a year ago — improved to 7-10, while the Spartans slip to 5-11.
“There were a couple of key plays that gave us a spark tonight,” Huber said. “The dunks by David got things going, we did well on the boards, especially with Jeff Buchans on the offensive boards, and going in, we knew they had a couple big-time shooters in Cody Thompson and Christian Williams.”
Conneaut’s victory in the first matchup this season — and the shooting of Thompson and Williams — were not forgotten by the Falcons.
“They hurt us the last time we played them, so I told the kids before the game that we had to know where they were at all times,” Huber said. “Our defensive effort on them was really good. Coach (Tim) Tallbacka always has them ready to play and you have to be sharp to deal with them because they are a balanced team.”
Unfortunately for the Spartans, while they did have eight players score, a two-of-16 night for Thompson and overall 17-of-46 (36.9 percent) night was not enough to offset the Falcon’s 23-of-48 effort (47.9 percent). An eight-of-23 performance in the second half by the Falcons was offset by a 10 of 17 second half at the line as Jefferson repeatedly took the ball to the basket and drew fouls.
“Jefferson just beat us in every facet of the game tonight,” Tallbacka said. “Coach Huber has done a really nice job with his team this year. In the second period, we had way too many point guard-to-wing turnovers that cost us chances to score. You just can’t turn the ball over as many times as we did (18) and expect to win.”
Cleveland and Knight were the only Falcons to score in double digits, but Chase and Buchans each added seven, Brett Powers scored six, and 10 of the 14 Falcons who played scored and eight of them snared rebounds. That was important, as the Falcons won that battle as well, 31-26. Chase grabbed 10, but the key to winning that battle may have been the five offensive rebounds grabbed by Buchans to keep possession in Jefferson’s favor.
“Jeff really grabbed some important rebounds tonight for us,” Huber said. “Keeping possession of the ball and limiting turnovers will always keep the other team from getting scoring chances.”
Eight of the 10 Spartans also scored, but other than 12 from Nick Blood, 11 of which came in the second half, their balance wasn’t nearly as effective as that of the Falcons.
“We had a tough time keeping up with Cleveland, Chase gave them a spark with his dunk early,” Tallbacka said. “So we will just get back to practice, try to learn from our mistakes and get ready for Edgewood on Friday night.”
Kelly is a freelance writer from Jefferson.
Sports
Related Photos
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DAVID CHASE of Jefferson powers to the rack to hammer home a dunk as Cody Thompson of Conneaut looks on Tuesday night at Falcon Gym. WARREN DILLAWAY
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DAVID CHASE of Jefferson powers to the rack to hammer home a dunk as Cody Thompson of Conneaut looks on Tuesday night at Falcon Gym. WARREN DILLAWAY
Discussion
Falcons impress
Cleveland, Knight — and a huge dunk by Chase — lead Jefferson past Conneaut
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