ROCKFORD — For the second straight night, Jefferson turned a tight game into a runaway with a late run to move into a tie for second in the NIC-10 race.

Rockford East converted an eight-point halftime deficit into a 40-40 tie at the end of three quarters behind a 14-point explosion from guard D’Wan Horton.

But the J-Hawks opened the fourth quarter with a 13-1 run and cruised to a 66-50 win Saturday at Jefferson. Friday, the J-Hawks used a 14-0 third-quarter run to beat Freeport, 65-50.

The J-Hawks improved to 13-2 on the season and 4-1 in the NIC-10, tied with Hononegah behind Auburn. East fell to 2-13 and 0-6.

“(Jefferson) started going to the post a little more,” Horton said. East’s tallest player is 6-foot-2, “and our intensity went down. We got tired.”
Jordan Kerley led Jefferson with 21 points, 12 in the fourth quarter. Mershon Wilkes scored 14.

“(Jefferson Coach Todd Brannan) just got done talking to us about playing the same way whether it’s Auburn, Boylan or East,” said Jefferson’s Thaddeus Perry, who scored 11.

Jefferson outrebounded East 34-29, unofficially, and could have pushed the margin higher, but the J-Hawks made just 5 of 14 free throws in the second half. Horton finished with 24 points, and the 5-7 guard led East in rebounding with 11. Caleb Cooper chipped in nine points.

“(East) is a lot better than their record,” Brannan said. “Horton is a good player and they play very good defense.”

- Alex Gary, rrstar.com