The Thomas Jefferson and Exeter boys basketball game on Thursday evening had all the early signs of becoming a shootout with the host Cavaliers ahead 17-15 after one quarter.
The teams exchanged the lead at least seven times.
The visiting Tigers had their perimeter shooters feeling a hot hand with three 3-point baskets during the first eight minutes.
The Cavaliers, meanwhile, fed their senior center Jay Ball early and often for 12 of their 17 first-quarter points.
Ball finished with a game-high 32 points, Thomas Jefferson hit more 3-point shots than Exeter did over the final three quarters and the Cavaliers’ defense tightened up on their way to a 59-41 win at the TJ Fieldhouse.
“Honestly, we just had no defensive intensity early in the game,” Thomas Jefferson coach Chris Myers said. “We rotated slow and gave them a lot of good looks at the bucket. In the second quarter, we started to make an adjustment and then in the second half, we really turned up the defensive pressure which changed the game.”
Tyler Brouhard finished with 10 points, eight of them in the first half with a 3-pointer late in the half that gave the Cavaliers a 28-21 halftime advantage.
Kip Atteberry added eight points, Tony Touma five points and Kohl Thurman and Levi Triplett two points each.
“We got the inside game established early,” Myers said. “Jay did a good job of finishing inside and then our guards stepped up and knocked down some big shots. Guys that don’t typically score a lot of points for us all got their names in the scoring column.”
Atteberry’s trifecta late in the third put the Cavaliers up 45-32 entering the fourth and Touma knocked down another trifecta to extend the lead to 48-34 after Exeter opened the scoring in the fourth.
“Kip had a great shooting night the other night,” Myers said. “He carried that over into this game. We hope that he keeps that confidence going into next week and on into districts.”
Thomas Jefferson improved to 16-6 overall and 3-1 in the Ozark 7 Conference, and the Cavaliers are back in action Tuesday at home against conference and district foe Verona.
The Cavaliers have games remaining against Verona and then city, conference, and district rival McAuley Catholic before the start of the postseason.
“Trying to build on the things we’ve been working on all year and trying to finetune a few things here and there to try and make a good run come playoff time,” Myers said.
Thomas Jefferson, two-time defending district champion, owns the top seed for the upcoming Class 1 District 7 tournament hosted by Golden City.
Thomas Jefferson girls 57, Exeter 11
The Cavaliers scored the first 20 points of the game and never looked back during a 46-point victory Thursday over their conference rival.
“We played them early in the season and (tonight) was the same type of game as before,” Thomas Jefferson coach Traci Walker said. “Our focus right now is on districts. We play McAuley on Senior Night next Thursday and then turn around and play them at districts. We have some team goals that we’re working on, so we tried using that for this game. We’re trying to finish above .500. That’s what we’re working on.”
Thomas Jefferson junior Gabbi Hiebert and sophomore Lannah Grigg combined for 49 points Thursday with Hiebert good for 29 and Grigg for 20.
“They are my dynamic duo,” Walker said. “It’s nice when we play teams that know they can’t guard both.”
Tannah Cassatt added four points and Macie Shifferd and Sarah Mueller each had two points for the Cavaliers.
Thomas Jefferson improved to 11-10 overall and 2-2 Ozark 7, and the Cavaliers return home Tuesday against conference foe Verona.
