Patriots Swarm Chiefs, 63-34
Mike Stanley, Jefferson County Post Sports
You have heard it said, “It’s not how you start, It’s how you finish,” and for the Jefferson County Patriots basketball team that is a good thing. After starting the season 1-3, the Patriots have now won 9 of their last 10, including a 63-34 drilling of Cherokee Tuesday night. “We just wanted that first group to establish that dominance and create turnovers,” Head Coach Chris Poore stated. The Pats were able to do just that, creating 22 turnovers on the night.
The score was tied early at 2 apiece, however, Jefferson County would go on a 22-4 run to end the half and lead 24-6 at halftime. Holding a team to six points in a half, one would think dominant defense, right? Chris Poore says it was combination of two things, “Defense, I was pretty pleased with that.” Poore added, “ It was little bit of pressure defense and credit a little bit to them just shooting bad.”
The Chiefs did, however, play better in the second half, shooting 41% from the field. It wasn’t enough though, as the Patriots rolled on to the 29 point victory.
Possibly the most impressive thing about the Patriots’ 9 out of 10 run is the fact they have done so with many sicknesses and some injuries. Senior John Bryant returned from a rib injury to lead the Patriots with 19 points. Kyle Briggs, who battled a temperature of over 100 degrees against Morristown East, chipped in 9 points. Danny Bates, who to quote his father, was “the sickest I’ve ever seen him,” Friday and Saturday versus Morristown East and Greeneville, managed 4 points. Junior Noah Carter did not play against Cherokee with an upper respiratory infection.
Jefferson County returns to the court December 26th in the Arby’s Classic at Tennessee High in Bristol. They open with a team from Mariner, Florida who, at the time of press, was 7-0 in class 5A, which will be a great test for this Patriot team. “I know they have good size, I know they are athletic, and I know they are going to be tough,” Poore closed saying, “We will find out a lot about ourselves then.”
