Worth County's boys fell victim to a rash of hacking and fouling in the district tournament as they fell to Jefferson 57-47 in the semifinals. They were able to survive West Nodaway for their first district win in four years. But they were not able to survive the likes of Jefferson. Tim Jermain's Eagles went to the line 21 times to only 9 for the Tigers; Jefferson made 14 free throws to 6 for Worth County. That accounted for most of the difference in the game.
The first part of the game looked promising for Worth County as Brevyn Ross aired the ball out to Cade Allee on a fast break and then went coast to coast against three Eagle defenders to put Worth County up 4-0, getting Jermain agitated and up in arms at the officials. But then Jefferson shot their way back in as Ben Jermain and Michael Burch hit triples to put their team up 6-4; as Ross sat on the bench with two quick fouls, they grew their lead to as big as 16-8 in the second quarter. It looked like a repeat of the first game, where Worth County realized too late that they could play basketball with this squad.
But then Ben Badell came off the bench and played his best quarter of the year, getting loose for a backdoor pass from Mason Hawk, knocking down a drive off a pass from Ross, and throwing up a floater after getting a pass from Brevyn and going down the left side. That helped bring Worth County back in front at 19-18 before Caden Farnan posted up inside for two and Burch hit two free throws to put Jefferson up 22-19 at the break.
It looked like Jefferson would finally start to pull away as Jermain knocked one down from behind the arc 11 seconds into the second half, but then Ryan McClellan hit a 3-pointer off a pass from Mason Hawk, Brevyn Ross stole the ensuing inbounds pass, and Worth County got five different looks at the basket, to Coach Jermain's consternation, before Brevyn Ross kicked one out to Drake Kinsella to tie it up at 25.
Worth County then went in front as Brevyn Ross hit Cade Allee for a 3-pointer from the right side and then Ryan McClellan found him at the top of the key to make it 33-32 with 4:24 left in the quarter. But sometimes, when you catch someone, you use up all your energy to get back in the game and then have none left. Ross picked up his third foul and sat down, and Jefferson scored the last 12 points of the quarter as Worth County went cold. They scored 14 points in the first 3:36 and then went scoreless for the rest of the third quarter. Being able to score consistently will be a goal for the team next year, along with playing defense without fouling people.
With Jefferson up 44-33 after three, that amounted to a death sentence, since they have the ability to run the clock at will with a lead of that nature. Cade Allee opened the scoring with another 3-pointer, but then Jefferson got a pair of backdoor looks to counter, and they were able to control the game and the clock most of the way. With 1:13 left, Drake Simmons scored off a drive and converted a 3-point play to make it 57-47 and the Tigers got a glimmer of hope as they got a steal and finally got a chance to get the game under double digits. But Allee missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key and Jefferson ran out the final minute for the win.
Cade Allee had 12 points for the Tigers. Drake Kinsella and Ryan McClellan had 8, Ben Badell 6, Drake Simmons 5, Brevyn Ross 4, and Isaac Alarcon and Mason Hawk had 2, Brevyn Ross had 6 assists; Ryan McClellan and Mason Hawk had 2, and Drake Simmons and Cade Allee had 1 each. Isaac Alarcon had 3 steals, Brevyn Ross, Ryan McClellan, and Cade Allee had 2, and Mason Hawk had 1.
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