As the year wound down, Jefferson High’s basketball teams took on Three Forks and Manhattan to begin their conference. The girls came away with two convincing wins, while the boys lost a couple of nail-biters.
Three Forks visited Boulder on Dec. 17, a couple of days after hosting their big tournament. The Panther girls leaped out to a quick 17-4 first quarter lead in this one: Jaida Jurenka started the scoring with a three-pointer, then Ryian Eveland hit two baskets and a pair of free throws, Cameron Toney and Meridith Reider both added buckets. Three Forks went on a 10-point run to pull to 19-16, but Parker Layng hit a long-range three and the Panthers were on the way to a 24-17 lead at the half.
In the third, KK Morris hit a free throw, Eveland made three buckets in a row, and Brooklyn Miller scored to make it 38-21, but the Wolves made another run to make it 38-27 with one period remaining. Then, the Panthers put the game out of reach, pulling ahead on three-pointers by Toney and Reider and cruising to a 52-36 win.
The Lady Panthers put on another dominant performance in Manhattan. Jurenka once again got things started, ignoring an 18-2 first-quarter run. Brianna Layng hit a three, Jurenka came up with a steal and the Panthers held a 29-14 lead at the half.
KK Morris started the third quarter with two three pointers, Parker Layng added another three, 44-14, Josie Oxarart made it 58-25 and the Panthers took the win comfortably, 62-25.
The boys started strong against Three Forks: Tyzer Zody hit a pair of baskets, Jed Williams made two more, and Kellen Williams added a bucket to make it 18-14 at the end of one. Williams started the second with a three and followed with a two, then Zody made it 25-16. The Wolves worked their way back to 25-23, but the Panthers held firm, and a basket by Wyatt Geir made it 33-26 at the half.
The teams stayed close in the third. Tyler Frydenlund and Geir both hit threes, and Zeke Dove put the Panthers up 49-47, but the Wolves scored the last three points to lead 50-49 going into the final 8 minutes of the game.
A big-scoring fourth quarter certainly made for an exciting conclusion. The teams traded baskets most of the way, both hungry for the win. Kellen Meredith hit a three to make it 70-71, but then Three Forks went into ball control and closed it out with a pair of free throws to take the win, 73-70.
In Manhattan, the Panthers had another battle, probably not their last in a very strong conference this year. The Tigers put in the first 5 points, but Williams and Meridith returned the fire to tie the score at 5 — and the battle was on. Manhattan went on a run to take a 18-12 lead after one. Caleb Morris and Meridith both hit threes, leaving the Panthers down 29-30 at the half.
The Panthers surged after halftime to take a 37-32 lead, and Meredith’s three made it 42-38. Manhattan came back to lead 44-42 at the end of three, and the teams traded baskets in a hard-fought final period. Manhattan led by two with 15.2 seconds left, and the Panthers pulled to within one with 5.6 seconds remaining. Hunter Stevens’ long shot at the buzzer looked good, but it bounced off the front of the rim, and escaped with a 61-60 win.
Jefferson sports are off for the Christmas break. Merry Christmas to all Panthers and Panther fan. High school sports, the best!
