Eighth grader Logan Johnson led the scoring for the Lady Jags with 14 points. Johnson also added 6 rebounds and 3 assists while Kaylee Arrington added 10 points and Abigail Haythorn contributed a team-high 10 rebounds. The Jaguars raced out to an early 16-4, first quarter lead behind Michael Bridges’ 9 points and extended that lead to 33-14 by halftime. TJA’s second unit played well in the second half and the Jags pulled away for the 59-25 victory.

Chase Walden led the Jags with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Seth Evans added 12 points and 8 rebounds. The Jaguars improved their overall record to 15-7 and 5-1 in Region 1A play.

Lady Jags Win Two
Thomas Jefferson’s Lady Jaguars put together a two game winning streak as they defeated Memorial Day School 38-37, then followed that victory up with a 38-29 win over Region 1-A rival, Nathanael Greene. Both wins came on the road and improved the Lady Jags season record to 10-11.

Kaylee Arrington hit a three pointer at the buzzer to give the Lady Jags an exciting come-from-behind victory over Memorial Day.

Arrington finished with 14 points for the evening, while adding 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Freshman Abigail Haythorn posted another double-double as she scored 17 points and pulled down 17 rebounds, both team-highs. Eighth grader Logan Johnson contributed a team-high 7 steals.

Haythorn and Arrington also led the winning effort against Nat Greene as Arrington scored 12 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and handed out 4 assists, while Haythorn scored 15 points and pulled down 17 rebounds. Logan Johnson added 7 rebounds and a game-high 7 assists.

The win over NGA moved the Lady Jags into a first place tie with Westminster Christian in region play.

Jags Drop Two
The TJA Jaguars struggled on the road last week, dropping a 65-40 decision to top-ranked Memorial Day then losing a big region contest to the Nathanael Greene Patriots by 36-32 margin.

The Jags fell behind early as Memorial took an 18-8 first quarter lead and coasted to victory. Matt Swan played well in the loss as the senior scored 10 points, going three for three from the field and four for five from the foul line.

Poor shooting did the Jaguars in as they lost a competitive game at Nat Greene on Tuesday. TJA shot only 31 percent, missing a lot of high percentage shots around the basket. Alex Haythorn had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Jags.

The loss dropped TJA into a first place tie in Region 1-A with the Patriots.


Warriors to play South East Bulloch Friday

By Oraleethia L. Morgan
Apprentice

The Jefferson County High School Warrior basektball team recently played fives games, leaving them at 3-3 for region play.

Warriors vs. South East Bulloch
“We needed this win,” said the Jefferson County High School boys’ basketball team Manager Brianna Greene.

Tuesday, Jan. 10, the JCHS Warriors faced the South East Bulloch Yellow Jackets, ending the night with a win of 40 to 33 over the Yellow Jackets. Coach Shawn Parks, head coach of the Warriors, said the team played very well. He said in that game his standout player was senior Jabril Wilcher.

“His dominance on the board limited the amount of shot attempts they got up and increased our shot attempts,” said the coach.

Wilcher was the lead scorer and rebounder and ended the night with 11 rebounds and 10 points.

Senior Gregory Gross led the team in blocked shots with three; junior Montel Mitchell led the team in assists with four; and, senior Quaid Stone led the team in steals with three.

The coach said there were many highlights in the game. The coach said he was pleased with the spirited play by Wilcher and was pleased with how Stone came into the game and played to his potential.

Parks said another high point came when senior LaDarien Jones dunked on a fast-break.

“It was an interesting game,” said Parks.

He said his team faced a 1-3-1 defense, which was a defensive strategy the team had never faced.

“The kids adapted to it well,” said the coach.

He said he was proud of his team’s defensive effort.

“They only scored 33 points,” the coach said about the other team. “For most of the game, they would only get one shot attempt and we would get the rebound.”

The coach also said the Warrior team’s offense was more efficient and the team was able to get lots of lay-ups from fast-breaking and dominating the board.

“Anytime you’re able to get more lay-ups your shooting percentage goes up and we were able to do that,” said the coach.

The coach said the game against South East Bulloch was their second region victory and at that point the Warrior team’s region record was 2-2.

“It made me feel good because it was a team win,” said Parks.

Warriors vs. Swainsboro
Friday, Jan. 13, the Warriors basketball team traveled to Swainsboro High School to play the Swainsboro Tigers.

The Warrior basketball team led the Tigers 42 to 40 in the third quarter, but fell to them in the end with a score of 48 to 59.

“I think they played well in spots,” said Parks.

He said his starting five executed the defensive routines well.

“Our zones worked, both 2-1-2 and 1-2-2,” said the coach.

He said the team was able to get some inside production from Gregory Gross and Jabril Wilcher. Parks said the two forwards helped to keep the tempo of the game in their favor.

He said the back court was really big for the team that night and Montel Mitchell and LaDarien Jones played well.

“The effort was there, we just didn’t have concentration all 32 minutes of the game,” said the coach about the overall performance of the team. “The confidence that they could win was there also, concentration was just lost a little.”

He said his team had turnovers in the fourth quarter that in the end hurt them. Parks said another thing that hurt the team was the team started to take outside shots that, the coach said, they did not hit.

Warriors vs. Burke County
Saturday, Jan. 14, the Warrior team played the Burke County Bears.

“Burke County, the guys weren’t there mentally. For some reason our focus wasn’t there,” said Parks.

He said before the game the team watched a film on the Bears and the Bears team did exactly what was predicted.

The coach said the offense wasn’t effective that game.

“We turned the ball over too many times,” he said.

He said the team missed scoring opportunities that he said, if you want to win, you have to hit.

He said a highlight was when he played freshman William Jordan in the point guard position.

“He was able to execute the offense. He didn’t play scared.”

He said Jordan showed an aspect of leadership that he’d expect from a more experienced player.

“I’m hoping that we can piece things together before Friday’s game against Screven,” said the coach.

Warriors vs. Screven County
Friday, Jan. 20, the warriors traveled to Sylvania to play the Screven County Gamecocks. The Warriors ended the night with a score of 68 to 50 over the Gamecocks.

Parks said his team handled the ball with a lot more confidence than in the previous game and played more as a cohesive unit on defense.

“They played from start to finish and it was a real team effort,” said the coach.

In that game Quaid Stone was the lead scorer with 16 points for the night and LaDarien Jones followed with 10.

Parks said Stone took high percentage shots.

Montel Mitchell led in assists with four; Tony Boyd, Gregory Gross, and Nigel Mathis followed, each had one. Stone and Gross were tied with most blocked shots, each having two. Gross also led the team in rebounds with five. Boyd, Stone Wilcher and Xavier Hawthorne followed with four rebounds each. Mitchell led the team in steals with five for the night.

The coach said the win was more of a team effort.

He said there was a consistency with the strong offensive and defensive play of Jones, Gross and Kenyera Kelly. Aside from a monster dunk by Mitchell, the coach said another highlight was watching Lorenzo Gadson come into the game and score.

“He’s a JV player and played with a lot of confidence,” the coach said.

Warriors vs. Thomson
Saturday, Jan. 21, the Warriors played the Thomson Bulldogs. The Warriors ended the night in defeat with a score of 54 to Thomson’s 87.

Parks said his team did not play very well.

“We had 17 turnovers, which were way too many,” said the coach.

He said his team’s defensive play was good at the beginning of the game, but at times his players didn’t do what they were supposed to do.

The coach said his Warriors played a good team. He said the Thomson team brought in guys who were able to play any position. He said the Bulldogs played with confidence and shot the ball very well.

Kenyera Kelly was the lead scorer with 15 points; Quaid Stone had 10 points; and, LaDarien Jones had 9 points for the night.

Kelly also led in assists with two; Montel Mitchell and Gregory Gross each had one assist. Stone led the team in rebounds with four; Kelly and Mitchell each had four. Gross had the most blocked shots for the night with four.