Homestanding Allen East found that out the hard way as the Wildcats pounded the host Mustangs on the glass and on the scoreboard to the tune of 48-33 in Northwest Conference action.
“We’re a blue-collar team; we’re not flashy. We talked before the game about getting the shots on the glass and then going to get it; we do that very well,” Jefferson coach Marc Smith acknowledged. “We physically controlled the game. I figure when you go on the road and hold the home team to 33 points, plus rebound the way we do, we are in good shape to get a win.”
The Jeffcats (8-4, 2-3 NWC), owners of a 4-game winning streak, crunched the Mustangs (3-11, 0-5 NWC) on the glass 47-24 (17-7 on second chances). Josh Miller popped off the bench for 10 boards, followed by eight from Matt Gerdeman and six each by Michael Wiltsie and Matt Antalis.
“Jefferson is just too long, strong, physical and athletic for us. We couldn’t play the trapping, aggressive defense we needed to because they’d just throw over the top,” Allen East coach Chris Cockerell explained. “Defensively, I thought we played pretty well. You just have to make some shots. I thought we had our share of open looks, both inside and out, but we have been so inconsistent shooting the ball all season.”
That was borne out by a 12-of-48 shooting night for the hosts (5-of-17 long range) for 25 percent against Jefferson’s tight man-to-man defense. That was against Jefferson’s 18-of-49 (5-of-19 trifectas) for 36.7 percent versus Allen East’s mainly 1-3-1 zone.
The Wildcats drew first blood on a Gerdeman (8 markers) inside basket at 6:19 and never trailed. Aided by three triples off the bench from Craig Carder (team-high 13 markers, 4 treys), Jefferson’s lead was as high as 15-3 on his 3-ball from the corner with under a minute left before E.J. Laing (8 markers) hit a turnaround in the lane with 32 ticks showing for a 15-5 scoreboard.
“Our bench came through again tonight. Every night, it seems someone else is leading us in scoring; tonight it was Craig,” Smith continued. “I’d like to have that go-to guy we can count on night after night but we don’t have one right now. It wasn’t a great offensive night but you’re not always going to shoot well. Defensively, we took away everything they wanted to do and made them go where we wanted them to go. To their credit, they hit a couple of late 3s but we basically shut them down.”
Jefferson continued to have its way on the glass in period 2 (10-5 edge) and showed solid offensive patience. This time, it was six counters from Antalis that did the most damage inside. Mike Rahrig (10 points) put back a second-chance opportunity with 1:14 showing to put the halftime bulge at 26-12.
Allen East tried a 2-2-1 3/4-court press to try and get back in the game in period 3 but the Wildcats easily handled it. All told, they committed 10 turnovers to seven for their hosts. Despite shooting 4-of-16 in the canto, getting five extra opportunities allowed the guests to get a lead as high as 17 before a 3-ball from the key by Nathan Swaney (12 counters, 3 treys; 7 caroms) two ticks before the horn reduced that to 36-22.
Allen East was forced to come out of the zone and go man-to-man in the finale, as well as applying some trapping pressure. With Rahrig scoring six to Swaney’s six, the nearest the Mustangs could get was 13 late as Smith got his deep reserves some floor time.
“We have to turn right around and get ready for a very good Arlington team at our place (tonight),” Smith added. “They have a tough game to come back from, win or lose, just like a lot of teams this time of year. That’s just how it is.”
The Jeffcats canned 7-of-17 singles (41.2%) and amassed 10 fouls. Jordan Jettinghoff delivered five assists to the cause.
Allen East notched 4-of-8 free tosses (50%) and compiled 16 fouls. They visit Perry tonight.
In JV play, Jefferson (8-4, 3-2) canned 7-of-10 free throws in the fourth period to hold off Allen East 50-40.
Ryan Ebbeskotte tallied 11 and Andy Wiltsie 10. Aaron Swaney countered with eight.