Boylan 75, Jefferson 68: The Jefferson boys basketball team appeared on the verge of a sweep against perennial powerhouse Boylan, but the Titans had other plans.

Boylan avenged its earlier loss to the J-Hawks with a huge second-half effort to earn a 75-68 win on Friday.

“This was a big win for us,” Boylan coach Steve Goers said. “This was a team effort. I am very happy for our kids.”

Jefferson (20-5 overall, 10-4 in NIC-10) led 22-15 after the first quarter and later extended it to 13 points in the second as Mershon Wilkes connected on a 3-point shot. Senior Thaddeus Perry scored the J-Hawks final four points that gave them a 35-29 halftime lead.

The Titans (15-9, 9-5) rallied to take their first lead in the third quarter on Chris Miller’s 3-pointer that made it 43-42 with 3:30 left.

Marcus Marshall’s basket gave the lead back to the J-Hawks at 44-43. Miller’s basket and Steve Thomas’ two free throws gave Boylan a 47-44 lead.

Jefferson came into the game with hopes of a sweep after defeating Boylan 71-63 on Jan. 16.

“There aren’t that many Rockford Public Schools teams that can say they have a chance to sweep Boylan in the regular season and that certainly was our goal,” Jefferson coach Todd Brannan said. “Boylan is much improved.”

Jefferson’s woes at the free-throw line kept it from getting any closer as the J-Hawks went 8-of-26.

Michael Morman scored eight of his 12 points in the fourth that gave Boylan a 62-56 lead midway through the quarter.

Shane Zackery, who led Boylan with 18 points, said the Titans wanted to avoid a sweep.

“We played our hearts out,” Zackery said. “Everybody played well on defense and we stopped their penetration.”

-Brenda Young, rrstar.com