Mavericks flip the script, rebound from struggles
Anderson County’s Landry Sharp drives into the paint during the Mavericks away matchup with District 4-AAA rival Gibbs. The Eagles visited the Mavericks on Thursday Jan. 29. Anderson County won the home game 71-37. (photo:Ellie Hatmaker )
The Mavericks have two District 4-AAA games remaining, and if they can defeat Union County for a second time and avenge their lone league loss to crosstown rival Clinton, they could clinch a share of the regular-season championship.
Anderson County (10-11 overall, 5-1 in the district) last played Thursday night, routing Gibbs 71-37 at home. The Mavs were scheduled to face Union County on Friday, but the game was postponed and tentatively rescheduled for tonight (Feb. 4) in Maynardville.
The season hasn’t been without challenges. Anderson County endured a six-game losing streak around the holidays while dealing with multiple injuries to starters. But the Mavericks have bounced back, winning five of their last six games.
“If you’d told me earlier this year that we’d have a chance to play for a district championship, I would’ve thought you were crazy,” Jeffers said after Thursday’s win over the Eagles—the second dominant victory over Gibbs this season.
Anderson County wasted no time seizing control, opening a 21-4 lead by the end of the first quarter.
But Jeffers kept his team focused.
“I told them in the huddle that games aren’t won in the first quarter,” he said. “I told them they had to keep their foot on the gas, and they did a good job of that.
“We still didn’t shoot the ball great, but we shot better than we did at their place. And we played good defense. They were stuck on four points for a long time. When we got shots, they were good ones—and when we missed, we rebounded well.”
The Mavericks led 31-6 midway through the second quarter and took a 38-11 advantage into the locker room.
Despite another lopsided result against the Eagles, Jeffers said this win felt more complete.
“I thought at their place, we played their game,” he said. “Tonight, we wanted to dictate the pace. Even if we gave up a few more points, I felt like we did a good job controlling the tempo.
“We forced a lot of turnovers—but we committed too many ourselves. Just some silly stuff.”
