The Jefferson Blue Jays JV Basketball team took on the St. Vincent Indians on Thursday, December 3, in hopes of securing the team’s third win of the season. The Indians proved to be too much for Jefferson, falling behind early and never climbing back into the game, taking a 52 to 34 loss.
The Blue Jays were coming off their second win of the season that saw them play and defeat Kingston High School 56 to 34. It had been an overall strong start to the year from Jefferson’s JV squad with a pair of wins that sat them at 2-1, but this one didn’t go as planned.
Things looked a bit shaky for the Blue Jays coming out of the gate, but they kept the first quarter close and were only trailing by five entering the second quarter. The second quarter was a different story with Jefferson struggling to make shots and they entered halftime behind by a score of 34 to 19. It would be a much worse situation for the Blue Jays if it weren’t for the play of Sam Stokes who scored nine of Jefferson’s 19 first half points.
The Blue Jays offensive woes continued in the second half, scoring just 13 points total, while the Indians continued to pile on the points. In the end, the Blue Jays took a 54 to 32 loss.
Jefferson’s JV Coach Matthew Eisenbeis said that the cause of the Blue Jays’ demise was that they just ran out of gas.
“Near the end, I think we just got tired. ” Eisenbeis said. “St. Vincent is long on defense and created some turnovers and extra possessions with offensive rebounds. They also shot the ball very well, and we did little to nothing to adjust to it.”
Stokes and C.J Johnson led the way in scoring for the Blue Jays on the night. Both Stokes and Johnson ended the night with 11 points. Nine of Stokes’ points came in the first half and Johnson hit three three-pointers on the night.
It was also a good game off the bench for Brandon Buford, Jess Blankenship and Konner Armstrong. Buford contributed five points in the scoring column, and while Blankenship and Armstrong only had two and three points respectively, their defense and rebounding were massive for the Blue Jays.
Jefferson will play again on Tuesday, December 8, when they and the Varsity Blue Jays take on the Potosi Trojans.
