Anderson County basketball still adjusting in early season
Anderson County’s Cole Russell goes for a layup against Powell High School. (photo:Ricky Williams )
“You’ve got to have a toughness about you, and at some point you’ve got to compete and you’ve got to decide that you’re tired of losing,” Jeffers said after the Mavericks dropped an 89-61 decision to Powell at the Jeff Hunter Gymnasium.
“This game got away from us on the first possession,” Jeffers said.
The Panthers (1-2) had struggled to manufacture offense in their first two games, but they found their shooting touch against ACHS.
“We took a better quality of shot tonight,” Powell Coach Gary Barnes said.
“I was really pleased with the quality of shot we took tonight. It was better than what we took (opening) week.”
Jeffers conceded that the Panthers won the game with hot shooting, but he said that his Mavericks team had something to do with that.
“It’s easy to take good shots when you’re wide open,” he said. “We’re missing five players who are still playing football, but they are, too.
“They’re missing two starters, so it is what it is,” Jeffers said. “We didn’t have great respect for our opponent. We knew they would shoot better at home.”
Powell wasted little time taking control of the game.
The Panthers opened an 18-12 lead in the first quarter and just continued to dominate throughout the contest.
Powell was ahead 45-33 at halftime, and things just kept getting worse for the Mavericks (1-3).
The Mavericks had three players post double figures in the scoring column. Ryan McGhee led the way with 16 points.
Brandon Dake added 11. Cole Russell finished with 10. Hayden Craig chipped in with seven points, and Jacob Dooley had six.
Powell’s Kaleb Walker had a game-high 26 points.
He scored 18 after halftime, and Bryce Jadret scored 18 of his 25 points over the first 16 minutes.
Noah Brewer finished with 16 points and Neyland Dugger had a total of 12 points.