FORT JENNINGS — The Jefferson Wildcat boys took the short trek to Fort Jennings Saturday night to battle another Putnam County school in Musketeers.
The strong inside players for the Musketeers prove to be stronger than the Wildcats, leading to a 42-38.
The Musketeers started the fourth quarter with a 34-24 advantage but the Wildcats were able to come within one point for much of the final quarter. Shortly in, Jordan Jettinghoff (12 points) drained a 3-pointer to put the Wildcats within five points. A little while later, Matthew Antalis’ huge block (8 points, 3 blocks) led to a 3-point goal by Craig Carder (6 points, 5 assists) to get the ’Cats within three, forcing Musketeer coach John Von Sossan to call time to regroup.
Antalis came up big on the offensive side of the ball this time, hitting foul shots to move the ’Cats within one with 3:02 remaining. As the clock wound down to under two minutes, the Musketeers were up 39-38. Derek Geise (15 points, 10 rebounds) had a huge block to keep the Musketeers in front. Ross Gerdeman (5 points, 6 rebounds) hit 1-of-2 key foul shots to put the Musketeers up four with 29.8 seconds remaining. The Musketeers held the Wildcats scoreless for the last two minutes of the game.
“We won. We had some bright spots; our zone took them out the game but they found away to get back in it. We went man for two possessions and it did not work,” stated Von Sossan.
The teams struggled to score in the third quarter as the Musketeers outscored the Wildcats 10-9. Antalis had two key blocks in the quarter as Jefferson tried to make a comeback and pull a double-win weekend off once again. The Musketeers were determined to keep the ’Cats from taking the lead. Mike Rahrig (5 rebounds) had key rebounds to keep the Wildcats close and prevent the Musketeers from having extra shots. The score at the end of three quarters was 34-24, Musketeers.
“We dug ourselves too deep and were playing too deep on the perimeter. We had some solid defense with only allowing 42 points. We’re proud of the effort and energy the boys put in to coming back; we just could not get over the hump and get the ball in the hole,” stated Jefferson coach Marc Smith.
Fort Jennings outscored Jefferson 16-13 in the second quarter. Jettinghoff hit two 3-pointers late in the quarter to hope for a 7-point deficit going into halftime but Aaron Chandler (5 points) drove end-to-end in three seconds for a layup to give the Musketeers a 9-point advantage.
Trevor Von Sossan (8 points, 5 rebounds) had two threes for the Musketeers off the bench as he was their second-leading scorer.
“We did a better job inside and attacked the paint area better than we have been. It was good to beat a quality opponent but it did not come easy. Our inability to make some free throws, turnovers and fouls is what made it a tight game and it was still a good win,” added Von Sossan.
Jefferson struggled in the first period to score and to shut down Geise; he scored all eight of the Musketeers’ points in the quarter. Matt Gerdeman (4 points, 4 rebounds) was the only member of the Wildcats to score. Geise was there for putbacks, also working to get open and convert once he got the ball.
Jefferson had shots but could not get any of them to fall. They also struggled on the boards as they were outrebounded 34-22 (11-8 offensive).
“Too big of a hole against a good team, returning 5-of-6 from a good regional team last year. We are doing a nice job of competing with teams but we are not trying to compete; we are trying to win,” added Smith.
The Wildcats (10-7) host Crestview Friday (6:30 p.m. JV start). The Musketeers (10-7) entertain McComb Tuesday (6 p.m. JVs).
In JV action, the Wildcats prevailed 50-39. The Wildcats, now 11-6, were led in scoring by Grant Brand with 16; Logan Bonifas followed with 12. The Musketeers (5-11) were led by Cory Schimmoeller with 19 points.