The Jefferson High basketball season started last weekend with a trip to Red Lodge by the varsity and JV squads for a two-day event.
On Friday, the Panthers took on Columbus. The boys’ game began oddly, with Columbus awarded a free throw before the tip-off because a Jefferson player had the wrong number on his jersey. Early-season jitters.
Following that miscue, Columbus took a 9-0 lead before Kael Hesford hit a three to put the Panthers on the board. Zach Zody sank another three and Hesford ended the first period with a third to pull within five, 14-9. The Panthers narrowed the gap to one on a basket by Dylan Root, and went into halftime down 27-24.
In the third period, a three by Mike Emter tied the game at 29, and Hesford’s bucket gave the Panthers a 32-31 lead. From there, it stayed close: Columbus went up 40-38 at the end of three, but Hunter Stevens tied it at 40. Hesford hit three free throws to put the Panthers up 43-40, and Dalton Noble made it 45-42. But then Columbus surged and held on for a 60-55 win.
Zody led the Panthers with five three-pointers and 17 points. Hesford sank three three-pointers for 12 points, while Emter scored 9, Root 6, Stevens 5, Tyler McGrady 4, and Noble 2.
The Lady Panthers played next – and likewise found themselves down in the early going. But Austie May sank a free throw and then hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 8. Columbus put in five points at the end of the first, then scored eight straight at the start of the second to go up 22- 9. Jefferson started racing back, as MacKenzie Layng’s three and free throws by May and Izzy Morris made it 17-24.
But in the third, Panther mistakes showed, and Columbus outscored Jefferson 15-6. The Panthers hung tough in the final period, but Columbus took the win 57-43. Layng led the Panthers with 17, while May scored 11, Morris 7, Cameron Toney 6, and Arena Faler 2.
On Saturday, the Panther teams took on Joliet — and the Lady Panthers showed what they’re capable of this year. They quickly went up 16-0, as Morris hit a three, and May and Toney each hit twos. At the end of the first, it was 18-5, Panthers.
The second period was more of the same: A pair of three-pointers by MacKenzie Layng, another by Austie May, and Toney’s steal and score made it 37-8, and Jefferson was on its way to an easy win. Joliet went on a 9-0 run starting the third, but Toney stopped the run with an old-fashioned three, and the Panthers turned the corner with a run to go up 51-33. The final: 71-48. Morris led with 21 points, Toney had 19 points, May 15, Layng 9, and Faler 7.
Then it was the boys’ turn – and it proved to be a battle all the way, a low-scoring affair with both teams struggling to get much to fall.
The Panthers took a 6-2 lead on baskets by Emter and Noble, and a three by Emter made it 9-8. In the second, Hesford made it 11-10 and a nice block by Stevens set up a score by Zody to make it 13-11. The teams stayed close with Joliet holding a slight 19-17 lead at the half.
In the third, a couple of blocks by Noble kept Joliet from scoring, and Root’s basket knotted the score at 19. The teams tied again at 21 and 23. Stevens put the Panthers up 25-23, but Joliet held a 28-25 lead going into the final quarter.
In the final eight minutes, Zody hit a three to tie the score at 30, and then another to make it 35-36. But the Panthers couldn’t take the lead again, and Joliet went on to win, 43-37. Hesford had 10 points, Zody and Noble 8 each, Stevens 4, Emter 5, and Root 2. Noble set a school record with seven blocks, besting the previous high of six shared by Jake Genger and James Sieminski.
