Coming into last week’s District 5B tournament, there seemed little doubt that Jefferson High’s girls basketball squad would be among the top three teams to go on to the Southern Divisional. But the Panther boys? Their chances weren’t as certain; the boys’ conference was a highly competitive free-for-all, with six of seven teams holding a legitimate chance to advance.
Sure enough, the Panther girls made it easily, losing to Ennis in the District final but emerging as a number two seed for the divisional. The boys, though, had a rough and tumble weekend, finally escaping with a clutch win in the third-place game and a ticket to the next playoff round.
The boys opened Wednesday with a convincing 66-51 win over Ennis, which had defeated the Panthers twice during the regular season. This one started slowly: Tyzer Zody put in the first points, Tyler Frydenlund added a basket and Zody hit a three. Logan Frydenlund sank two free three throws and Jefferson was up 11-7 at the end of one.
