ANDERSON — After his team played a lethargic first half Friday night at Fuller Gymnasium, Jeffersonville boys’ basketball coach Tim LaGrange felt it was time to have a heart-to-heart talk with his troops.
And he didn’t care if the Red Devils were a little tired after taking a long bus trip up to Anderson Highland, which was having its Senior Night.
“It was not an X-and-O halftime. It was a character halftime,” said LaGrange, whose team was behind 26-21 at the break.
The Red Devils responded to the intermission speech.
They outscored the Scots 33-23 in the second half on 11-of-18 shooting and prevailed in their regular-season finale, 54-49. LaGrange thought his team’s level of competitiveness stepped up a notch in the second half.
“That was the key,” LaGrange said. “I didn’t think we competed very hard in the first half. They had nine seniors and they were playing to win. They had a good crowd and a good team. It was Senior Night and we made a 2 1/2-hour bus trip. We had a lot of obstacles to overcome.”
Trailing 35-30 with 2:48 to go in the third quarter, Jeff (16-4) got going.
The Red Devils scored seven points in a row to go up 37-35. Junior A.J. Adams started the spurt with a tip-in, followed by an Edward Wright-Baker layup off a turnover and a Kegan Clark 3-pointer.
Despite Highland (13-8) getting the lead back at the end of the third quarter, at 39-38, Jeff started the fourth on fire.
The Red Devils nailed their first three baskets to take a 44-39 advantage. Sophomore Evan Maschmeyer capped off the run with a layup off an assist from Clark.
After the Scots pulled to within 49-47, the Red Devils ran their press offense to perfection with the end result being a Clark layup. It was followed by Drake Coleman hitting both ends of a one-and-one situation to give the Devils their biggest lead of the game at 53-47 with 47 seconds left. Highland got no closer than four points after that.
In the final stanza, Jeff made 5-of-7 field goals and 6-of-10 free throws.
LaGrange thought two things helped his team pull out the win down the stretch.
“One, we forced a couple of turnovers and got a couple of easy buckets. Our defense created some offense for us,” LaGrange said. “Secondly, I thought we just competed harder.”
Adams led Jeff with 14 points, while Maschmeyer and Coleman each chipped in 12. Senior Jay Mohr paced the Scots with a game-high 21 points.
The Red Devils enter postseason play with some momentum, winning 13 of their last 15 contests. They will kick off Class 4A Seymour Sectional play at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, squaring off against Floyd Central.
“It’s always good going into the tournament with some momentum,” LaGrange said. “But ultimately, I don’t think Floyd Central cares if we won this game. They’re coming to compete.”
JEFFERSONVILLE 16 5 17 16—54
AND. HIGHLAND 18 8 13 10—49
Jeff (16-4) — Adams 14, Coleman 12, Maschmeyer 12, Clark 7, Wright-Baker 4, Fisher 3, Ewing 2.
Anderson Highland (13-8) — Mohr 21, Stonewall 10, King 7, Ogden 6, Lark 3, Tatum 2, Hill 0, Malone 0, Worley 0, Gladney 0.
Three-point field goals — Jeff 4 (Coleman 2, Fisher, Clark); Highland 1 (Lark).
Rebounds — Jeff 20 (Fisher 5); Highland 31 (Tatum 5).
Turnovers — Jeff 9, Highland 14.
Junior varsity score — Jeff 67, Highland 50.
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