Patriots Get Big Win in Arby’s Classic

Staff Photo by Mike Stanley, Jefferson County Post Sports

Staff Photo by Mike Stanley, Jefferson County Post Sports

Jefferson County rounded out day one of the 32nd Annual Arby’s Classic with a hard fought 60-50 win over Mariner High School (Cape Coral, FL). Jefferson County improved to 11-4 on the season with the win over the 3rd ranked team in class 5A in Florida. “They have some players, when they get out in the open, as you saw tonight, that can really make things happen.” JCHS Head Coach Chris Poore stated.

After the two teams swapped buckets early, it became a quarter of runs to end the first stanza. Jefferson County would go on a 9-0 run, thanks in large part to two 3-point baskets by Kyle Briggs, and the Patriots led 12-5 mid-way through the first. The Mighty Tritons of Mariner would answer with a 7-0 run to end the quarter, and the game was tied at 12 after one.

“Kyle is a competitor,” Poore said of his senior leader. “You don’t even know how much he impacts the team.”

After a back-and-forth second quarter, the game was again tied at the half at 24.

Mariner would come out in the 2nd half and look like a much different team than earlier in the game. The Tritons rushed out of the games and Jefferson County found themselves down 29-24. Poore would call a quick timeout.

The timeout proved to be very beneficial for the Pats. After a stern talking-to, the Pats would recover nicely and, after trailing by as many as eight, found themselves only down by one heading into the final quarter at 38-37.

The Pats would dominate the quarter that mattered most, outscoring Mariner 23-12 in the final stanza to get a huge win on a national stage, 60-50.

“It’s a fun team to coach,” said Poore. He added, “We were down 6 or 8 after halftime, but we never hung our head. We battled back to overcome a lot of adversity.”

It has been 26 years since the Patriots have played in this prestigious tournament, and the accomplishment means a great deal to Poore. “We just wanted to come into this tournament and compete.” He added, “It’s the first time Jefferson County has been here in a long time, and we take a lot of pride in that.”

To Poore, it is not just about Jefferson County on the national stage. “We want to represent our state well. We want to represent our school well. That is why we came up here.”

Jefferson County advances to play Monday evening at 6:30 against David Crockett, who advanced after hitting a 3-pointer as time expired over North Gwinnett, Ga. “We are just gonna try to put a good team on the floor that can compete with them.”

Source: Mike Stanley, Jefferson County Post Sports