Feb 6, 2018 By Adam Brewer for The 4 min read

JEFFERSON — Jefferson-Morgan stayed even with first-place Chartiers-Houston in the opening 16 minutes Tuesday night, but the Rockets were outscored 25-11 in the decisive third quarter in a 73-51 loss in Section 2-AA boys basketball action.

The Buccaneers (15-5, 10-1) have won 10 of their last 13 games and claim sole possession of first place in the section heading into their Section 2-AA finale on Friday versus Fort Cherry.

“I think we just had more aggression in our play in the second half,” C-H coach Eugene Briggs said. “We knew this was going to be tough to come in here and win. I think they brought some energy because it was their Senior Night. We were passing up way too many shots in the first half. We had to be more assertive at both ends and get in the right flow of the game.”

Andrew Clark led all scorers with 23 points for Chartiers-Houston, while Zach Southern finished with 20 and Cam Hanley added 16.

Coming off a 68-63 road upset of second-place Fort Cherry on Friday, the Rockets (9-12, 2-9) were unable to ride the emotions of Senior Night.

All three of the seniors were the top scorers for Jefferson-Morgan, as Jalen Torres scored 17 points, followed by DL Garrett (14) and Josh Clites (10).

“I really liked our compete level tonight,” J-M coach Dennis Garrett said. “Once again, that third quarter killed us again. That quarter has been our nemesis the whole season. It was a very quick, up-tempo game, and I think both teams wanted that. I really liked how our three seniors came out and battled the whole night. Those three young men have been outstanding for us every game.”

The Rockets conclude Section 2-AA play on the road Friday against Carmichaels.

Trailing 6-0 in the early moments of the first quarter, the Rockets stormed back into the game with a 9-0 run on the strength of two 3-pointers by Clites and a trey by Torres.

The visitors responded with six of the next 10 points and trailed 13-12 at the end of the opening quarter.

The Bucs started the second quarter with a 13-3 spurt that gave them a 25-16 lead.

The Rockets countered with a run of their own, as they ended the second stanza with an 11-5 rally to cut the halftime deficit down to 30-27. J-M connected on six 3-pointers in the first half.

Chartiers-Houston scored the opening five points of the third quarter and then went on a 15-4 burst to stretch its lead to 50-30. J-M tried to get back into the game with an 8-5 rally and trailed 55-38 going into the final eight minutes of play.

“We always seem to have that big run in us every game and I think that has helped us in section play,” Briggs said. “Game in and game out, I really liked our defense. We always try to take away the other team’s best scorers out of the game and forced their role players to step up. We have some height on the floor and I think that frustrates some teams.”

Both teams exchanged points and runs in the final quarter, but the Bucs never let up the pressure and rolled to the victory after outscoring the Rockets, 18-13, in the fourth.

Clark, Southern and Hanley were responsible for 33 of the Bucs’ 43 points in the second half.

“They won the battle on the boards,” Garrett said. “They attempted a lot of threes, which led to a lot of long rebounds. They were able to get those boards and get some second chance points. On the other end, we were one and done on offense. We couldn’t get those points in the paint.”